Key Notes
- A known Ethereum (ETH) whale dumped 20,000 ETH ($32M) on Kraken
- ETH has fallen over 50% year-to-date (YTD), and only 36.1% of wallets remain profitable.
- Despite price weakness, Ethereum leads in developer activity and sees selective whale accumulation, signaling mixed market sentiment.
Whale Moves Drive Market Tension
Ethereum’s recent price action has been anything but calm, largely influenced by high-stakes whale behavior. On April 14, blockchain trackers spotted a well-known whale offloading 20,000 ETH ($32.4 million) to Kraken. This isn’t the first time the same wallet has consistently sold in 20k tranches since late 2022.
Yet, despite this bearish behavior, the same whale still holds over 30,000 ETH, valued at around $50 million, and has netted $104 million in total profit since 2022, a 52.4% gain, according to Spotonchain data.
Not All Whales Are Selling
In contrast to the sell-off narrative, other wallets believed to belong to institutional entities have been accumulating ETH. One mysterious buyer recently scooped up 15,953 ETH ($26 million) using multiple wallets through OKX, later moving the funds to Aave and borrowing 15.4 million USDT.
Such moves suggest strategic positioning, possibly using ETH as collateral a sign of long-term conviction despite short-term volatility.
On-Chain Metrics Reflect Bearish Sentiment
The percentage of ETH addresses in profit has dropped to 36.1%, its lowest since early 2023, according to Glassnode. Additionally, the number of wallets holding $1M+ in ETH has declined sharply, reflecting a broader loss of confidence among large holders.
Dormant accounts have also resurfaced. A whale from the 2015 ICO era recently moved 2,000 ETH to Binance, a move not seen from that wallet in years, further rattling the market.
Fundamentals Remain Intact
While whales influence short-term price, ETH’s fundamentals continue to show strength. According to Electric Capital, ETH leads all ecosystems in development activity, with over 7,900 GitHub events, far ahead of competitors like BNB Chain and Polygon.
The Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) roadmap, recently outlined by co-executive Tomasz K. Stańczak, highlights focus areas like Layer-1 scalability, support for RWAs and stablecoins, and even AI-driven protocols signaling that ETH’s long-term utility is far from fading.
Co-founder Vitalik Buterin also urged that as more apps are built on ETH, they must be made with good values because apps show what people really believe in.
Market Outlook: Diverging Sentiment, Critical Period Ahead
ETH is still down more than 50% from the start of 2025. Some analysts compare the current moment to the 2018–2019 cycle, suggesting the protocol may be in a long accumulation zone.
Others, like Alex Becker, believe ETH could revisit all-time highs, potentially triggering a broader altcoin rally, though such projections remain speculative.
For now, Ethereum sits at the intersection of bearish whale exits and quiet institutional entry and that tension may define its near-term path.
