- Retail investors sold ETH while short-term holders showed weak conviction.
- Whales accumulated ETH, supporting price despite negative funding rates.
- ETH holds $2,300 support, facing resistance near $2,400 and higher moving averages.
Ethereum — ETH, continues to trade above the $2,300 level, showing resilience despite mixed market behavior. Price action recently hovered around $2,370 to $2,380, reflecting mild weekly strength. However, the underlying data tells a more complex story. Retail investors appear to be reducing exposure while larger players quietly increase holdings. This split creates tension in market structure and raises questions about the next major move for ETH.
Retail Selling Pressure Builds While Market Sentiment Softens
Ethereum gained around 0.8% in a single day and more than 3% over the week. Even with this upward movement, on-chain signals show growing caution among smaller holders. Wallets holding between 100 and 10,000 ETH sold roughly 820,000 ETH in one week. Over two weeks, distribution reached nearly 1.5 million ETH. This behavior suggests profit-taking or fear-driven exits among retail participants.
The 90-day Mean Coin Age also dropped sharply. Short-term holders appear responsible for most selling activity. Long-term investors show less movement, which often signals stronger conviction. Staking activity adds another layer to the picture. Around 300,000 ETH was unstaked in a single week. This marked the largest weekly withdrawal since November.
Such activity often signals liquidity rotation or reduced confidence in near-term upside. Derivatives data also leans cautious. ETH perpetual funding rates stayed negative across most of the past month. Futures open interest climbed above 14 million ETH, yet sentiment remains hesitant. Traders appear positioned defensively rather than aggressively bullish.
Whale Accumulation Strengthens While Technical Levels Tighten
While retail participants step back, large wallets continue to build positions. Whales accumulated approximately 230,000 ETH last week. This buying partially absorbed selling pressure and helped stabilize price action. This divergence between retail and whales often signals accumulation phases. Liquidation activity also supported short-term price strength. ETH recorded $38.7 million in liquidations within 24 hours.
Short positions accounted for $26.1 million of that total. Forced exits from bearish traders added upward pressure during key trading sessions. Technical indicators show a developing tension zone. Analysts observed a potential golden cross between the 50 and 100 simple moving averages. This pattern often signals medium-term strength. Some projections suggest a possible move toward $2,680 near the 200 SMA. However, caution remains in play.
ETH has struggled to break above $2,400 multiple times. Resistance sits between $2,500 and $2,800, where the 50-week and 100-week moving averages converge. Price action currently presses against $2,388 resistance, but momentum remains uncertain. Exchange data adds another dimension. April saw withdrawals drop to the lowest level since September 2024. Around 19.8 million ETH moved off exchanges, with Binance leading activity.
