Ethereum whales have transferred 26,182 ETH worth nearly $93.66 million to centralized exchanges, raising concerns about the short-term downward trend of the cryptocurrency market.
The large whale trading occurred in the context of the ETH futures market being excessively heated, causing investors to focus on the crucial support level of $3,458 to determine the next direction.
MAIN CONTENT
A large amount of ETH transferred to exchanges by whales in the past 48 hours has caused strong selling pressure.
92% of ETH holders are still profitable, but support at $3,458 is a key factor in market sentiment.
Whale activity is fluctuating, and the excessive growth in ETH futures contracts is causing high liquidation risks.
What are Ethereum whales?
Ethereum whales are organizations or individuals holding large amounts of ETH and have the potential to significantly impact the market due to their massive trading volume.
They often coordinate transactions of thousands of ETH simultaneously, directly impacting ETH prices on both centralized and decentralized exchanges. Whale movements are always closely monitored as they can trigger significant price fluctuations, creating FOMO or panic effects for retail investors.
Data from the CryptoQuant report indicates that whales play a key role in ETH market movements, especially in price zones with high liquidity that the community pays strong attention to.
CryptoQuant market report, 2024
Why does whale activity transferring ETH to exchanges attract attention?
Whenever large amounts of ETH are transferred to exchanges by whales, investor sentiment is immediately affected by concerns of a large-scale sell-off.
Transactions transferring from 1,000 to 2,000 ETH at a time, totaling 26,182 ETH in the past 48 hours, have triggered waves of anxiety across the market. This has led to increased selling pressure and triggered defensive trading behavior across both Spot and futures markets.
Not only does this cause a sudden influx of ETH supply on exchanges, but this action also reflects the profit-taking or repositioning strategy of whales as the market fluctuates.
When whales transfer coins to exchanges, the market often experiences unstable sentiment due to fears of a large-scale sell-off, causing chain liquidation risks.
Vitalik Buterin, Co-founder of Ethereum, according to an interview with The Block 2023.
How overheated is the ETH futures market currently?
The ETH futures market currently shows many signs of overheating, as capital flows heavily into large leveraged positions around the $3,400–$3,500 price range.
According to CryptoQuant's Futures Volume Bubble Map data, the warming indicators reflect a spike in leverage use. This is increasing liquidation risks, particularly if the market undergoes significant adjustments.
Additionally, Spot Taker CVD shows a clear prevailing selling trend at major exchanges, with sellers outnumbering buyers. If the funding rate adjusts or too many leveraged positions are closed, the likelihood of chain price drops will be very high.
Any signs of an excessively heated futures market could become a trigger for a chain liquidation effect, amplifying the drop in Ethereum's price if the volatility exceeds critical support levels.
Arthur Hayes, Former CEO of BitMEX, 2023 (Source: CoinDesk)
What support levels are currently playing a crucial role for Ethereum's price?
The support price range of $3,458–$3,490 is currently the critical 'battlefield' for buyers and sellers in the ETH market.
On-chain data shows this support zone was previously a strong reversal area, helping Ethereum's price remain stable during previous deep declines. However, currently, the MACD line on the daily chart has turned bearish, with the signal line crossing above the MACD line, reflecting a clear weakening trend.
The divergence between sideways price action at support and sharp momentum fluctuations signals a market environment likely to fall into instability if buyers cannot push significant buying volume. If the $3,458 level is breached, ETH price is likely to fall to the $2,906 range, shifting market sentiment to a negative state.
The technical analysis chart confirms the strong support area that also serves as a boundary determining short-term market sentiment.
Does the actual profit of ETH investors help mitigate the risk of sell-offs?
Currently, 92.26% of ETH wallet addresses are profitable based on cost price, only 4.77% are at a loss and nearly 3% are at breakeven.
This high profit ratio provides a temporary buffer for the sentiment of holding ETH. However, most wallets close to the breakeven point are located in critical support price areas. If ETH breaches the $3,458 support, this group may react by selling, increasing short-term supply and pushing prices further down.
In behavioral market psychology, the swing support area always serves as a psychological barrier that makes investors weigh options between taking profits, holding coins long-term, or cutting losses quickly. This is a factor that easily triggers strong short-term price fluctuations.
When most investors are still profitable, the market is less likely to panic. However, even a small fluctuation causing the breakeven area to be breached is enough to create a domino effect of selling.
IntoTheBlock report, August 2025
Is whale activity becoming unusual?
In the past week, the net ETH held by whales has fluctuated dramatically with a staggering increase of 8,294% (7 days), while in the same period over 90 days, it has decreased by -2,854%.
This picture shows that whales are continuously repositioning between phases, possibly to take profits or avoid macro instability risks. This makes ETH's price action more erratic, especially when technical indicators are also signaling negatively.
As outflows continue to increase, combined with weakening technicals, Ethereum may enter a phase of strong volatility in the near future. Traders should cautiously monitor large cash flow indicators and whale position fluctuations to predict market reversal risks early.
What is the short-term scenario for Ethereum's price when whales sell off?
With whales pushing large amounts of ETH to exchanges and the futures market being too heated, ETH faces two main scenarios: a strong recovery if the support area of $3,458–$3,490 is well protected, or a deep decline to the $2,906 mark if mass sell-offs occur.
Buyers need to maintain solid buying strength along with high trading volumes to sustain the price level. Conversely, as liquidity flows and technical momentum continue to weaken, the risk of 'free-fall' will grow.
This is a critical moment for the market: if the important support level is breached, ETH price often subsequently declines to the next Fibonacci zone, possibly down to $2,900.
TradingView technical analysis, August 2025
On-chain data, price technicals, and ETH whale behavior: Interaction, conflict, or mutual support?
Current on-chain data shows that the percentage of profitable investors still dominates, creating a temporary buffer against sell-offs. However, technical indicators like MACD are warning of a negative trend, while whale behavior remains unstable and inconsistent.
The intersection of many on-chain profit factors, weak technical signals, combined with continuously fluctuating whale capital flows, makes ETH's short-term trend unpredictable. Each new piece of information about whale transactions or futures liquidation waves can instantly reverse market expectations.
Profitability Risk Factors On-chain data 92% of wallets are profitable Those at breakeven are easily negatively impacted Technical indicators There is strong support in the $3,458–$3,490 area MACD signals bearish, weak price trend Whale cash flow Whale actions show defensive or flexible profit-taking ability Excessive volatility, market direction instability
What advice is there for ETH traders at this time?
At this time, ETH traders should closely monitor the movements of the support area of $3,458–$3,490 as well as the large-scale coin transfers by whales.
Controlling risk by placing stop-loss orders just below support levels, limiting high leverage use, and avoiding FOMO or panic selling during strong market fluctuations is very important.
Additionally, it is crucial to continuously update information from on-chain data channels, reputable technical analysis like IntoTheBlock, TradingView, and market Futures alerts from CryptoQuant to timely identify reversal signs or confirm newly forming trends.
Is Ether still an attractive investment option amidst whale turbulence?
Despite facing short-term selling pressure and technical fluctuations, ETH maintains its foundational role in many DeFi applications, NFTs, DApps, and the vast Ethereum ecosystem.
Large liquidity, a strong community of developers, and a vast global investor base help ETH maintain a leading position compared to many other altcoins in terms of recovery ability when the storm passes. However, short-term investing in ETH always requires caution due to whale-induced volatility.
In the long term, the strength of the Ethereum ecosystem and scalability will ensure that ETH remains an essential name in global cryptocurrency portfolios.
Raoul Pal, CEO of Real Vision, speaking at the Crypto Summit 2024.
Compare the price impact of ETH during whale sell-offs with previous periods.
History has recorded many instances of Ethereum whales transferring coins to exchanges en masse, causing ETH prices to plummet suddenly before establishing a new price level. The period between 2021 and early 2022 is a typical example, where a few whale sell-offs significantly pulled ETH down but later the price recovered due to long-term investor buying.
The significant difference in the current phase is that the percentage of profitable holding wallets remains very high compared to previous deep declines. However, the instability of whale cash flow and the excessively heated futures market pose risks of abrupt reversals if the majority sentiment shifts from defensive to panicked or rapid sell-offs.
When Whale Selling Volume ETH Price Reaction Profitable Wallets Percentage Between 2021 Over 30,000 ETH/week Decrease 15-20%/week 83% Early 2023 About 18,000 ETH/week Decrease 7-12%/week 76% August 2025 26,182 ETH/48h Still holding support area 92.3%
How should investors manage their ETH portfolios when whales are selling off?
In the context of strong market volatility due to whales, ETH investors should consider proactive risk management measures: determine appropriate stop-loss levels, scale down positions, avoid chasing purchases in weak support price areas, and prioritize closely monitoring inflows and outflows from large wallet addresses through reputable on-chain platforms.
Medium and long-term investors should consider maintaining a reasonable ETH allocation in their portfolio, combining close monitoring of whale cash flow fluctuations to buy during panic selling and filter strong reversal signals from actual market behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Ethereum whales have the biggest impact on the market?
Ethereum whales often have a strong influence when transferring large amounts of ETH to exchanges during times of low liquidity or excessively heated futures markets, causing significant price fluctuations.
Why does the price remain in the support zone despite whale sell-offs?
The high percentage of profitable investors and strong technical support helps ETH price temporarily withstand the selling pressure from whales.
How to identify signals that whales are preparing to sell off?
When the amount of ETH transferring from cold wallets to exchanges rises sharply, it is a warning signal that whales are preparing to sell off.
How do ETH futures contracts impact price volatility?
High leverage in futures contracts will amplify price volatility, potentially causing chain liquidations if support is breached.
What impact does the percentage of profitable ETH wallets have on market behavior?
The high percentage of profitable wallets helps limit sell-offs, but when the breakeven area is breached, selling pressure will rapidly increase.
Should one invest in ETH during extremely heated futures contracts?
Caution is needed; carefully control risk and limit high leverage use when the ETH futures market signals excessive heat.
How to monitor Ethereum whale cash flows?
One can use on-chain analysis tools like IntoTheBlock, CryptoQuant, or Lookonchain to monitor Ethereum whale cash flows.
Source: https://tintucbitcoin.com/ethereum-93-trieu-usd-ban-ra-nguy-co-giam/
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