Ethereum Price Dips Below $2,450 as Whales Engage in Historic Buying Spree

Ether (ETH) is facing significant short-term headwinds, with its price falling to approximately $2,440, marking a daily decline as it struggles to reclaim key support levels. The ETH/USDT pair has been trading within a tight 24-hour range, oscillating between a low of $2,374.58 and a high of $2,465.69. This downturn follows a sharp rejection from resistance near the $2,673 mark in previous sessions, which triggered a wave of profit-taking and pushed the asset into a corrective phase. The selling pressure is also evident in the ETH/BTC pair, which has dipped to around 0.02291, indicating that Ethereum is currently underperforming Bitcoin. This relative weakness often signals caution for altcoin traders, as market capital tends to flow towards the relative safety of Bitcoin during periods of uncertainty.

On-Chain Data Reveals Unprecedented Whale Accumulation

Despite the bearish price action, on-chain data paints a starkly different and incredibly bullish picture. According to analysis from Glassnode, Ethereum whales—wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH—are accumulating the asset at a pace not witnessed since the 2017 bull market. For nearly a week, daily net whale accumulation has surpassed 800,000 ETH. This aggressive buying campaign has pushed the total holdings in these large-tier wallets to over 14.3 million ETH. On-chain analyst Lookonchain highlighted that this sustained buying pressure from large entities suggests they view the current price levels as a significant discount and a strategic entry point. This divergence between spot price action and whale behavior is a critical indicator for traders, suggesting that while retail sentiment may be wavering, smart money is positioning for a potential long-term rally.

The accumulation is further supported by strong institutional interest. Recent reports from CoinShares show continued capital rotation into Ethereum-based investment products, with nearly $2.9 billion in net inflows year-to-date. This institutional demand, coupled with a decreasing supply of ETH on exchanges and a rising amount of staked Ether—now over 35 million ETH, or 28% of the total supply—creates a powerful supply shock dynamic. With less liquid ETH available on the open market, any significant increase in demand could have an outsized impact on price, a factor that these accumulating whales are likely counting on.

Fundamental Strength Builds with Ecosystem Developments

The long-term investment case for Ethereum is being consistently reinforced by major ecosystem developments. Robinhood's recent announcement that it is building its own Layer-2 network using Arbitrum's technology stack is a massive vote of confidence in Ethereum's scalability roadmap. While still in development, the platform plans to integrate Ethereum staking and other decentralized finance primitives, potentially onboarding millions of retail users directly into the Ethereum ecosystem. Furthermore, the recent Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) showcased a vibrant developer community pushing the boundaries of what's possible on the network. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also introduced a new privacy-preserving digital identity framework using zero-knowledge proofs, a critical step for the adoption of decentralized applications that handle sensitive user data. These fundamental catalysts provide a strong bullish undercurrent, contrasting with the short-term technical weakness and suggesting that the current price dip may represent a consolidation phase before the next major leg up.

From a technical standpoint, ETH faces immediate resistance at the 24-hour high of $2,465 and a more formidable barrier near the psychological $2,500 level. A failure to reclaim this zone could see prices retest support at the recent low of $2,374. Traders will be closely monitoring the ETH/BTC ratio for signs of a reversal. A bounce from the current 0.02291 level would signal renewed strength in Ethereum and could precede a broader recovery in the ETH/USD pair. The key question for the market is whether the immense on-chain buying pressure from whales will be enough to absorb the short-term selling and reverse the current downtrend.