Four Ethereum whales have accumulated 7,788 ETH worth approximately $17.67 million as the altcoin traded below $2.3k, according to on-chain monitors. According to Lookonchain, a whale wallet spent $5.81 million and bought 2,570 ETH at $2,261 after more than a year of inactivity. Another whale linked to Erik Voorhees spent $1.12 million and bought 494 ETH, raising total holdings to 127,716 ETH worth $292 million. A third whale spent $3.43 million to buy 1,500 ETH, having purchased 21,800 ETH worth $46.9 million since February and now sitting on $3 million in unrealized profit. The fourth whale returned after a year of dormancy and bought 3,224 ETH for $7.31 million at $2,267 per ETH.
Since early this month, Binance has recorded withdrawals exceeding 3 million Ethereum (ETH) worth approximately $6.9 billion, signaling growing investor confidence in ETH. This trend reflects a move from exchange holdings to self-custody for long-term storage and staking, which offers passive rewards. Institutional investors like Tom Lee's BitMine are driving this shift, betting on ETH's staking potential despite current price consolidation below $2,350. Analysts note that such large outflows typically reduce sell pressure and may lead to price gains, but without strong retail participation, short-term bullish momentum could be limited.
Ethereum's attempted rebound faced rejection at $2,382 four days ago and has since closed at lower lows, touching a low of $2,252. At press time, ETH traded at $2,263.44, down 0.40% on the daily charts, adding to its 2% weekly losses. According to Lookonchain, exchange activity reflected this whale demand, with Ethereum's Exchange Netflow dropping to -18.7k ETH, a clear sign of aggressive spot accumulation. This whale demand has established a strong demand wall below $2.3k, giving ETH room for a potential rebound.
The altcoin's Stochastic Momentum Index (SMI) dropped to the negative zone to -28, suggesting strong bearish pressure. This pressure arises from increased sell-side activity from other market participants, while whales are buying. The Ethereum Supply Ratio (ESR) has jumped significantly to a monthly high of 0.126, suggesting that whale demand has remained inadequate to absorb pressure. This weakens whales' ability to lift ETH out of current levels, suggesting ETH is likely to trade sideways between $2.2k and $2.3k.
