Ethereum Exchange Reserves Plummet to 9-Year Low as Whales Gobble Up Supply
ETH's liquidity crisis deepens as exchange balances hit their lowest point since 2016—just as institutional players start treating crypto like their personal treasury bonds.
The Great ETH Drain
Exchanges are bleeding Ethereum faster than a DeFi hack. With reserves now at a 9-year low, the market's sending a clear signal: hodl season is back with a vengeance.
Whales vs. Retail
While retail traders chase memecoins, smart money's accumulating ETH like it's going out of style—which, given Wall Street's sudden affection for 'digital gold 2.0', it definitely isn't.
The Cynic's Corner
Nothing warms a crypto skeptic's heart like watching institutions FOMO into the very asset they spent years dismissing. Bonus points for doing it through regulated ETFs while preaching 'decentralization'.
Exchange Reserves Plunge To 2016 Levels
Many technical and on-chain fundamentals are currently lining up for Ethereum, but perhaps the most notable development is the decline in Ethereum’s exchange reserves. On-chain data shows that ETH held on centralized trading platforms has dropped to levels not seen since 2016, which makes it a new nine-year low. This decline in reserves is significant because it relays a reduction in sell-side pressure on top of the demand ethereum is currently witnessing.
As shown in the chart image below, the total Ethereum reserve on exchanges has been on a free fall since the beginning of 2025. At the time of writing, the total Ethereum reserve on crypto exchanges is at 18.7 million ETH, which is just about 15.5% of the total ETH circulating supply.
Massive Whale Buys Shows Confidence
Ethereum’s exchange reserves aren’t just dropping by chance; they’re being actively drained by whales. According to data from on-chain transaction tracker Lookonchain, major investors have been aggressively buying ETH in recent weeks.
Since July 9, a total of eleven newly activated wallets have collectively accumulated 722,152 ETH, valued at $2.77 billion. Interestingly, Lookonchain recently noted that three of these wallets scooped up an additional 73,821 ETH, worth roughly $283 million. Another whale address, “0xF436,” withdrew 14,520 ETH worth about $53 million from exchanges in the past 9 hours.
The accumulation has been spread across many sources, including FalconX, Kraken, Galaxy Digital OTC, and Binance, with FalconX accounting for the three largest single-wallet purchases. One of these wallets received over 138,000 ETH, worth more than $531 million, between July 18 and July 23.
Supporting the bullish outlook is a major purchase by The Ether Reserve LLC, a treasury management arm of The Ether Machine. In a recent announcement tied to Ethereum’s 10th anniversary, the firm disclosed the acquisition of nearly 15,000 ETH, valued at around $56 million. This brings their total holdings to approximately 334,757 ETH, with an additional $407 million allocated for further Ethereum purchases.
As more capital is committed to ETH in this manner, and with exchange reserves nearing historic lows, the conditions for a rally to new all-time highs appear to be falling into place. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,485, down by 5.5% in the past 24 hours.
