Ethereum still trades somewhat strong at $4,300, but a detailed study of on-chain activity shows that whale accumulation and larger network inflows are not aligned.
Whale’s address 0x4ed0 was added to the aggressive purchase speed that began on August 11th by purchasing an additional 5,553 ETH (valued by $24.44 million) in the last 40 minutes. This one address accumulated an average of $4,417 and 1,357 WBTC ($160 million) at an average of $18,447 ETH ($81.05 million).
Borrowing for ETH
The whale borrowed $114 million in USDT after the tokens were deposited on the Aave immediately. On the surface, this appears to be an important representation of confidence by the moneyed players.
However, zooming out reveals a less hopeful image of Ethereum’s on-chain data. The total amount of whale activity has declined despite these sporadic large purchases. Compared to the beginning of this year, the inflow into Ethereum-based exchanges has been slower, with the number of addresses holding ETH of over 10,000 people stagnating.
According to this difference, many whales are distributed or on the sidelines, but some have doubled. The decline in Ethereum’s ecosystem in general is another surprising sign.
Tactical changes
In the absence of consistent inflows, whale leverage tactics like 0x4ED0 can increase volatility rather than long-term stability.
Technically, Ethereum is still on a strong uptrend, maintaining its 50-day EMA at $4,050, with $3,330 serving as additional support. Without wider participation, however, price increases risk being dominated by a small number of whales, and if these players unleash their position, ETH is susceptible to sudden reversals.
The bottom line is that while whales still buy, the amount of money they enter the Ethereum ecosystem is declining. This leads to a precarious situation in which speculation and leverage outweigh natural growth.
In addition to purchasing individual whales, ETH requires broader and healthy participation, staking and ecosystem demands to maintain momentum.
