Whale Watch: Ethereum Holders’ Pain Points Revealed in Cost Basis Data

Big wallets bought high, small fries got rekt—classic crypto.

Breaking down ETH’s average acquisition price by wallet size exposes who’s sweating the dip. Whale-sized bags (>10k ETH) average $2,800 per coin, while minnows (<1 ETH) cling to $3,400 buys. Ouch.

Meanwhile, mid-tier holders (1-10 ETH) sit pretty at $1,900—proof that sometimes the ’dumb money’ outsmarts hedge funds playing with leverage. The takeaway? In crypto, size doesn’t always equal sophistication. Just ask the ’institutional-grade risk managers’ now underwater on their 2021 bets.

Average Cost Basis Across ETH Wallets

Average cost basis tells the cost of purchasing the same crypto asset at different prices over time. This tells the average price paid for each cryptocurrency.

According to a report by pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Blitzz, ether’s recent surge has pushed its price above the average cost basis for its holders. These levels are crucial, especially in bull markets, because ETH sometimes revisits them after surpassing them.

The average cost basis for wallets holding balances between 100,000 and 1,000 ETH is $2,225, while that of addresses with 1,000 to 10,000 ETH is $2,196. Blitzz further revealed that wallets with balances of 10,000 to 100,000 ETH have an average cost basis of $1,994, whereas those with assets above 100,000 ETH have a cost basis of $1,222.

ETH Flashes Positive Signals

Over a month ago, ETH fell below its realized price, just around the $2,000 region. This metric calculates the market value of ETH based on the price at which all coins last moved on the blockchain.

At the time, CryptoPotato reported that the market faced two possible reactions from ETH holders in loss territory: panic-selling or aggressive accumulation leading to strong recoveries. Evidently, ETH has witnessed a strong recovery over the past four weeks.

Based on Blitzz’s analysis, the closest realized price zone to ether’s at-press-time price of $2,500 (the asset is down 3% in 24 hours) is $2,225. This means that if ETH continues falling and eventually goes below this level, the market could once again face two possible scenarios, including a plunge below the $2,100 level.

However, in this case, analysts believe there is a higher chance that ETH will remain bullish for several reasons. One of them is that funding rates across all major exchanges have remained slightly positive, suggesting bullish sentiment across the market.

Another notable factor is minimal sell-side pressure. ethereum investors have been moving their holdings off centralized exchanges, withdrawing over $1.2 billion in ETH within the past week.