Ethereum whale opens $100mln long – Why traders still short ETH

Ethereum has closed at lower lows since it faced rejection at $2466, dropping to a low of $2252. In fact, at press time, ETH traded at $ 2,271, down 2.55% on the daily chart.

With the market pullback, liquidation levels for both long and shorts skyrocketed. CoinGlass data showed that $120 million in positions were liquidated, with $102 million in long positions. 

Ethereum whale opens 44,000 ETH long valued at $100 million

Despite rising liquidations across the market, traders, especially large entities, have continued to position themselves strategically. The Derivatives Taker Buy Sell Ratio turned positive again, signaling a comeback by buyers.

After the market reached $2.4k, traders in the derivatives market began realizing profits. As a result, the Taker Buy Sell Ratio dropped below 1, reaching a three-week low of 0.9.

But after two days, the metric bounced back above 1 to 1.022 at press time. A value at these levels suggested that traders, including whales, began opening new positions again.

Lookonchain reported one such whale trader. The Matrixport-linked whale, who previously cashed out over $398 million with a profit of $68.47 million, re-entered the market.  

After Ethereum [ETH] dropped to $2.2, the whale returned and opened a 44,000 ETH long position, valued at approximately $100 million. So far, with the market under extreme volatility, the position is down $722k and has spent over $5k in funding.

The whale opening a long position signaled bullishness as they eyed a trend reversal. However, most market participants are shorting the market.

Looking at the Funding Rates, this metric has remained negative for four consecutive days. Negative funding suggests that the majority are bearish and expect prices to fall.

Bullish pressure weakening but still in control

ETH has seen new positions reopen, but rising demand in futures remains insufficient for a short-term rebound. In fact, the altcoin sits below the Moving Average of Moving Averages (MaMA) at $2272 and the positive Feedback Band at $2317.

This suggests that the trend is slowly losing the upside momentum, with bearish momentum strengthening.

However, the Directional Imbalance Index shows bulls still dominate the market, with bullish pressure at 68% and bearish pressure at 31%.

Such market conditions point to a market stuck at a decision point. If bull pressure remains elevated, the altcoin will flip MaMA at $ 2,270 and move above the Positive Feedback Band at $2,317.

A move above here will strengthen the altcoin towards the upper band of the MaMa-EMA at $2.4. However, if the recent weakness persists, ETH will breach the Negative Feedback Band at $2210 and drop to $2170.

Final Summary

• A Matrixport-linked whale wallet opened a 44,000 ETH long valued at $100 million, after earlier cashing out $68 million.
• Ethereum market structure remains despite short-term weakness, and the uptrend holds as long as ETH closes above $2270.