Ethereum’s battle: Whale selling vs. shark buying – Who will win?

Key Takeaways

Ethereum’s rising price follows a decline in active addresses. However, overall market activity suggests that a sharp fall is less likely, keeping the market between a neutral and bullish phase.

Ethereum [ETH] has made several bullish attempts in the past week, with the asset rallying close to its all-time high of $4,891.

The bullish momentum, however, has struggled to hold, as the asset continues to push lower, forming new lows, with a press-time value of $4,225.

Notably, AMBCrypto’s research shows that despite the declining price, there remains a high chance ETH bulls could retake control of the market and push for a continued rally.

Whales retreat, but sharks scoop up 4.4M ETH

Recent analysis of Alphractal reveals that whales are backing out as they sell their ETH holdings.

Whales are typically the largest holders of the asset, and their share of supply has been declining as they sell—a clear signal of selling pressure.

Source: Alphractal

Historically, ETH’s correlation with Bitcoin showed that when whales sold Bitcoin, another group—sharks—accumulated the asset, which often sparked rallies.

These sharks hold between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH, and in this case they have been accumulating as whales step aside.

In the past five months, beginning in April, this group of investors has scooped up 4.4 million ETH from the market.

While sharks continue to accumulate, AMBCrypto also noted another trend in the market pointing toward bullishness. According to CryptoQuant, the Total Staked Ethereum has been steadily rising.

Source: CryptoQuant

A rise in staked assets signals a bullish sentiment in the market, as more investors commit to a long-term perspective. At present, the staked ETH supply has surged to 36 million ETH.

Rising reserves on exchanges spark caution

There has also been a rise in ETH reserves across crypto exchanges. At the time of writing, the amount of ETH on exchanges had reached 18.4 million.

The movement of assets into exchanges typically hints at looming selling pressure, since tokens are easier to liquidate once deposited on exchanges through spot trading.

Source: CryptoQuant

However, analysis of spot trading activity shows that order sizes have remained normal based on Spot Average Order Size, suggesting there has not been a spike in either selling or buying for now.

Still, the dynamics of the market appear to tilt in favor of the bulls, particularly with the increase in staking activity.

Active address surge strengthens ETH’s bullish case

Analysis of Ethereum addresses—both senders and receivers—shows a steady rise.

A look at active address movement alongside ETH’s price, as seen in the chart, reveals that overall increases in activity have historically correlated with ETH price surges.

Source: CryptoQuant

At present, addresses have seen a sharp spike in activity. If this upward trend continues, ETH’s price is likely to follow the same trajectory, supporting the case for a bullish recovery.