Ethereum whales scoop up ETH worth $74M – Any effect on the price?

Since Ethereum’s price breached its $3k support level, it has hovered around $2.9k. At the time of writing, the altcoin was valued at $2,944, down 2.2% on the daily charts and 11% on the weekly charts.

Its sustained decline is indicative of intense bearish pressure. However, with ETH showing upside weakness, investors, especially whales, have grabbed the chance to accumulate ETH lately. 

Whale continue to ‘buy the dip’

With ETH hovering below $3,000, whales have been on an accumulation spree. According to Onchain Lens, a whale bought 20,013 ETH worth approximately $59 million from FalconX.

Just a week ago, this whale bought 10,000 ETH for $28.9 million and sent $58 million to Wintermute for future purchases. After the latest purchase, the whale now holds 80,115 $ETH worth $236.55M.

Additionally, another whale purchased 5,099 ETH worth $15.14 million from Kraken after being dormant for 3 months. In total, the two whales scooped up 25,112 ETH worth $74.14 million.

Here, it’s worth pointing out that these two whales are not isolated cases either. Looking at the Spot Average Order Size, a hike in whale participation has been evident throughout January so far. 

Source: Cryptoquant

The metric showed large whale orders dominated between the price ranges of $2.9k and $3.1k – Signaling aggressive whale demand. 

Often, a hike in whale participation could mean either buying or selling. In this case, the altcoin’s Spot Taker CVD has remained positive throughout this period. A positive CVD implies that buy orders are dominant. Hence, in this particular case, whales have been active on the demand side of the market. 

Source: Cryptoquant

Often, an increase in whale buying activity during a downturn is also indicative of confidence in the market. Especially if they believe another leg up might be inevitable.

Can whales lift ETH’s price?

While whales have aggressively accumulated ETH, their buying pressure has failed to offset market pressure so far.

In fact, a look at the DMI Stochastic Momentum Index (DMI-SMI) revealed that the bearish momentum has accelerated, not stabilized.

To put it simply, markets have settled into a bearish regime, and retail traders have sold at every bounce, making the whales’ attempts insignificant so far.

Source: Tradingview

Such a momentum configuration is a sign of bearish trend continuation or sideways chop, before the market attempts another leg up. Therefore, if whales continue to accumulate while reducing downside pressure, Ethereum will remain stuck between $2.8k and $3.1k.

However, if the bearish momentum accelerates further and overwhelms whale demand, ETH is likely to breach its lower boundary.

Based on the altcoin’s Future Grand Trend, ETH could breach $2.8k and drop to $2.5k, before rising to $3.4k in early February.

Final Thoughts

• Ethereum whales have been buying the dip, scooping up 25,112 ETH worth $74.14 million.
• Ethereum [ETH] continues to face intense bearish pressure, making whale activity inadequate for another leg up.