Ethereum is facing increasing bearish pressure, signaling a potential momentum shift amid rising whale activity. Will this lead to a new downswing in ETH prices?
Struggling near the $1,900 mark, Ethereum begins a new week below $2,000 first since November 13, 2023. Amid the uncertain market trend, ETH price action has created a consolidation range.
With growing tension within the range and increasing whale movements, Ethereum is on the verge of a sharp move. Will this be a breakout run to $2,200, or will it retest $1,700?
Institutions Pulling Out of Ethereum ETFs
Over the last week, the weekly outflow from U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs was $143.13 million. This marks its third consecutive net weekly outflow.
On March 14, the daily outflow was at $35.30 million. Since February 20, the U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs have recorded a single day of inflow on March 4.
In the month of March, the outflows reached $262.96 million. Amid the rising outflows, the massive decline in institutional support warns of a potential breakdown in ETH price.
Declining Whale Holdings
As U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs record massive outflows, whales are also offloading ETH tokens. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted a massive outflow of 130,000 ETH in the past week by crypto whales.
Whales have moved off over 130,000 #Ethereum $ETH in the past week! pic.twitter.com/lrin2Npj8l
— Ali (@ali_charts) March 17, 2025
This is based on data from CryptoQuant, which highlights the Ethereum balance by holder value. Over the past week, the wallets holding 1K to 10K ETH balances have dropped from 12.87 million to 12.74 million.
More Whales Turn Bearish on Ethereum
Adding to the bearish sentiments, a crypto whale has resurfaced in the market after three years of dormancy to sell Ethereum. The whale wallet sold 1,014 ETH worth $1.92 million earlier today.
A wallet just sold all 1,014.67 $ETH($1.92M) after being dormant for 3 years, with a profit of only $126K.
This wallet bought 1,014.67 $ETH($1.8M) at an average price of $1,771 and held it for 3 years, with an unrealized profit of $2.3M at peak.https://t.co/eBJp4DLYwH pic.twitter.com/niglhmjaZY
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 17, 2025
Amid the long holding duration, the whale managed to book a profit of just $126,000 despite recent price declines. The whale had acquired Ethereum at an average price of $1,771, with an unrealized profit of $2.3 million at the market peak.
Furthermore, a giant whale has opened up a short position in the ETH-BTC trading pair. The whale has withdrawn 3,644 cbBTC worth $304 million from Coinbase.
Following the withdrawal, the whale deposited 3,034 cbBTC worth $253 million on Aave. Finally, the whale borrowed 79,638 ETH worth $152 million from Aave to deposit on Coinbase.
Ethereum in a Range Nears Key Resistance
As the bearish elements continue to resurface for Ethereum, the consolidation range in the 4-hour price chart remains intact. Currently, the short-term consolidation is approaching a resistance trendline in the center pivot level at $1,931.
As the market sentiment remains bearish, the possibility of a breakout rally for Ethereum is quite limited. Furthermore, the resistance trendline has kept three bullish attempts in check, resulting in the downfall under the $2,000 mark.
Currently, the $1,850 psychological mark acts as the crucial support level for the consolidation range. In case of a range breakdown, the crucial support for Ethereum is at $1,754.
On a bullish front, a breakout rally with the broad market recovery could challenge the 100-day EMA near the $2,083 mark.
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