In 2025, Ethereum recorded significant outflows towards whale wallets. While individual investors abandoned the currency, large holders continued to accumulate.
Ethereum wallets holding a balance between 10,000 to 100,000 Ethereum are the main holders towards the end of 2025. Ethereum whales continued to accumulate, especially in the second half of 2025.
Ethereum is undergoing a significant transformation in its ownership structure, with tokens flowing out of exchanges and towards new self-custody wallets. In 2025, the decline in retail investor sentiment continued, while whales utilized the tools available in decentralized finance on Ethereum.
Holdings in smaller wallets, which hold between 100 to 1,000 Ethereum, have continued to decline since 2024. Flows towards larger whale wallets expanded at a much faster pace, holding over 22 million tokens.
Ethereum balances in whale wallets holding between 10,000 to 100,000 Ethereum grew rapidly in 2025, with purchases during market weakness.
The largest wallets, which may belong to exchanges or custodians, hold about 4.47 million Ethereum and may not be as influential.
The latest group of whales continued to buy near their realized price, even without significant profits. Whale movements are seen as an indicator of expected breakouts, not a bear market for Ethereum.
### Large-Scale Whales Buy the Dip in Ethereum
The group of large wallets also showed a buying pattern in 2025, avoiding market peaks. Whale accumulation occurs at levels where Ethereum is considered undervalued.
The level of whale holdings also provides support for Ethereum at around $2,800. Whales become active on Ethereum at prices below $3,000, with prominent buyers like the 'Seven Brothers' wallets becoming active in November.
The active pace of buying also indicates that whales may be more confident in Ethereum's potential. The current whale buying did not occur during a hype cycle; rather, whales entered the market during periods of market panic and price weakness.
Whale buying occurred while retail investor sentiment in Ethereum was near all-time lows. At the same time, derivatives traders became more cautious. Ethereum sentiment shifted between neutral and fearful trading over the past months.
### Ethereum Whales Extend Silent Accumulation with Long-Term Confidence
Whales also accumulated Ethereum while exchange-traded fund buyers were offloading their holdings. Storing Ethereum in new whale wallets also indicates long-term confidence from newcomers to the cryptocurrency world, preparing for one of the largest events in building reserves.
Ethereum remains potentially significant for decentralized finance activity and even traditional finance. Ethereum accumulation continued, despite the absence of a market for altcoins. Ethereum could be key to creating and using stablecoins, one of the fastest-growing sectors in 2025.
Ethereum remains a major network for some decentralized finance protocols, currently holding 95% of the liquidity in protocols like Sky (formerly MakerDAO).
Ethereum is also considered key for liquid staking, which is more rewarding for whales. Ethereum reserves can also be used to generate stablecoins backed by cryptocurrencies or as collateral in lending protocols. However, the use of decentralized finance has also become a playing field for whales and more experienced traders, leading to the creation of a new set of whale wallets.
In this post:
- Ethereum whale wallets held over 22 million tokens after rapid accumulation in 2025.
- The fastest accumulation occurred through wallets holding between 10,000 to 100,000 Ethereum.
- Institutions and derivatives traders are stepping back from Ethereum, but whales maintain their accumulation pace.
