Ethereum’s 60% May rally pauses: What’s next as THIS group cashes out?

• Ethereum surged 60% in May, but long-term holders are selling.
• Over $3.4B in ETH left exchanges, hinting at rising confidence.

Ethereum [ETH] just pulled off a 60% sprint in May, riding a $3.42 billion wave of fresh accumulation.

But while the bulls were busy high-fiving, long-term holders started quietly heading for the exit — perhaps cashing in, perhaps sensing the music might be about to stop.

Cooling off or cooling up?

After surging past the $2,500 mark in a blistering early-May rally, Ethereum now appears to be catching its breath.

The daily chart showed a noticeable slowdown, with price action flattening and volume thinning out near the $2,509 level.

Source: TradingView

This consolidation follows a 60% rally that saw ETH peak at $2,617 before retreating slightly. Meanwhile, the RSI hovered around 67, just below the overbought threshold — a sign of bullish momentum.

With long-term holders reportedly trimming positions and buyers showing restraint, ETH seems to be entering a wait-and-see phase.

LTH offloading shows uncertainty

According to Santiment data, the Age Consumed metric has flashed red twice in recent days, marking two of the largest spikes in long-term holder activity since October.

These abrupt upticks show that seasoned investors are offloading dormant ETH — often a sign of profit-taking near perceived local tops.

Source: Santiment

The magnitude of these moves, the largest in seven months, brings doubt to Ethereum’s short-term outlook.

If conviction among LTHs continues to wane, the selling pressure could weigh heavily on ETH’s ability to sustain its momentum.

Ethereum exodus

Source: Cryptoquant

Over the past month, more than 1.34 million ETH — worth upwards of $3.42 billion — has quietly exited centralized exchanges, showing a strong shift in investor behavior.

The sharp decline in available supply, coinciding with momentum from the Pectra upgrade, shows that market participants are positioning for long-term holds rather than short-term trades.