Deep Dive
Overview: Inception, a liquid restaking platform supporting cbETH, announced its shutdown on July 11, 2025, citing unsustainable product-market fit. It allowed users to restake cbETH for boosted yields across DeFi protocols.
What this means: The closure removes a key demand driver for cbETH in yield-generating strategies, reducing its utility in decentralized finance. With $144.8M in daily trading volume for EigenLayer’s EIGEN token (a competitor), capital appears to be rotating away from restaking niches.
What to watch: Adoption of alternative restaking platforms like EigenCloud and whether Coinbase introduces new cbETH integrations.
2. Technical Breakdown (Bearish Impact)
Overview: cbETH trades at $4,744, below its 7-day SMA ($4,884) and 30-day EMA ($4,682). The MACD histogram (-61.21) confirms bearish momentum, while the RSI (46.77) nears oversold territory.
What this means: Traders often interpret breaks below key moving averages as sell signals. The lack of immediate support until $4,377 (61.8% Fibonacci retracement) could invite further downside.
What to watch: A sustained close above the 30-day EMA ($4,682) could signal trend reversal.
3. Coinbase System Upgrade Concerns (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Coinbase postponed a scheduled August 2 system upgrade that would’ve temporarily halted cbETH wrapping/unwrapping. While resolved, the initial uncertainty likely prompted precautionary selling.
What this means: Centralized exchange operations remain critical for cbETH’s liquidity. Even minor disruptions can trigger volatility, given its $121M daily volume.
Conclusion
cbETH’s drop reflects fading DeFi utility post-Inception shutdown, technical breakdowns, and exchange operational jitters. However, its 30-day gain (+26.2%) suggests broader bullish Ethereum staking trends remain intact.
Key watch: Ethereum’s base-layer development focus and whether cbETH regains traction in emerging DeFi protocols.