Ethereum Whales Gobble Up 1.49M ETH – Is a Massive Breakout Imminent?

Whale alert: Ethereum''s biggest players just loaded up on 1.49 million ETH. Are we witnessing the calm before the storm?

The accumulation game

When crypto whales make moves this big, markets tend to notice. Their buying spree could be the catalyst ETH needs to shatter resistance levels – or just another case of rich folks playing with digital monopoly money.

Technical squeeze play

The timing couldn''t be more intriguing. With Ethereum''s network upgrades finally delivering real scalability, these whale purchases might actually mean something beyond speculative greed for once.

Breakout or fakeout?

Either way, retail traders are left guessing whether to ride the whales'' coattails or brace for another ''buy the rumor, sell the news'' circus. After all, in crypto, the house always wins – especially when the house holds millions of ETH.

Source: Santiment

Is ETH losing retail momentum?

While large holders are positioning for long-term gains, retail participation has declined sharply. New addresses dropped -26.50%, and active addresses plunged by -55.37% in the past seven days. 

Additionally, transactions above $1M dropped more than -45%, and those above $10M completely vanished. 

Meanwhile, smaller transfers between $10 and $100 surged by over 106%, revealing short-term speculation rather than conviction.

These trends show that although Ethereum’s price has stabilized, smaller participants remain hesitant.

Source: IntoTheBlock

ETH’s momentum in danger

The latest liquidation heatmap revealed a dense concentration of long liquidations around the $2,550–$2,650 range. 

Ethereum’s price recently climbed into this zone, triggering caution among Leveraged traders. This area now acts as resistance, with significant liquidity set to unwind if prices fail to hold. 

If bulls manage to breach this wall, short liquidations could accelerate upside pressure. However, failure to push higher may lead to a swift correction. 

Source: Coinglass

True confidence or mild optimism?

Despite price movement and whale accumulation, Ethereum’s Funding Rate remained slightly positive at +0.0045%. 

This suggested a modest long bias among Futures traders, but lacked the intensity seen during breakout phases. The absence of high leverage build-up implies caution, not conviction. 

Therefore, while sentiment leans bullish, it reflects careful positioning rather than aggressive risk-taking. 

Until Funding flips sharply positive or Open Interest surges, the market may remain range-bound. This muted enthusiasm reflects the current wait-and-see approach among traders.

Source: CoinGlass

Whales gain control

According to historical concentration metrics, whales increased their holdings by +1.89%, and investors by +14.48% over the past 30 days. In contrast, retail holders reduced their share by -0.91%. 

This shift in ownership underlines a quiet rotation of capital from weaker hands to stronger ones. The continued accumulation by these groups reinforces the idea of long-term bullishness. 

As whales tighten their grip on supply, Ethereum’s resilience may strengthen—even without significant retail involvement for now.

Source: IntoTheBlock

Ultimately, Ethereum’s on-chain metrics suggest bullish accumulation by key stakeholders while retail interest continues to wane. 

However, without a retail resurgence and a strong break above $2,650, ETH may remain range-bound in the NEAR term. 

The market now waits for a catalyst to align whale confidence with broader trader momentum.