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Ethereum is facing increasing bearish pressure, signaling a potential momentum shift amid rising whale activity. Will this lead to a new downswing in $ETH prices?
Struggling near the $1,900 mark, Ethereum begins a new week below $2,000 first since November 13, 2023. Amid the uncertain market trend, $ETH price action has created a consolidation range.
With growing tension within the range and increasing whale movements, Ethereum is on the verge of a sharp move. Will this be a breakout run to $2,200, or will it retest $1,700?
Institutions Pulling Out of Ethereum ETFs
Over the last week, the weekly outflow from U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs was $143.13 million. This marks its third consecutive net weekly outflow.
On March 14, the daily outflow was at $35.30 million. Since February 20, the U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs have recorded a single day of inflow on March 4.
In the month of March, the outflows reached $262.96 million. Amid the rising outflows, the massive decline in institutional support warns of a potential breakdown in $ETH price.
Declining Whale Holdings
As U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs record massive outflows, whales are also offloading $ETH tokens. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted a massive outflow of 130,000 $ETH in the past week by crypto whales.
Whales have moved off over 130,000 #Ethereum $ETH in the past week! pic.twitter.com/lrin2Npj8l
— Ali (@ali_charts) March 17, 2025
This is based on data from CryptoQuant, which highlights the Ethereum balance by holder value. Over the past week, the wallets holding 1K to 10K $ETH balances have dropped from 12.87 million to 12.74 million.
More Whales Turn Bearish on Ethereum
Adding to the bearish sentiments, a crypto whale has resurfaced in the market after three years of dormancy to sell Ethereum. The whale wallet sold 1,014 $ETH worth $1.92 million earlier today.
A wallet just sold all 1,014.67 $ETH($1.92M) after being dormant for 3 years, with a profit of only $126K.
This wallet bought 1,014.67 $ETH($1.8M) at an average price of $1,771 and held it for 3 years, with an unrealized profit of $2.3M at peak.https://t.co/eBJp4DLYwH pic.twitter.com/niglhmjaZY
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 17, 2025
Amid the long holding duration, the whale managed to book a profit of just $126,000 despite recent price declines. The whale had acquired Ethereum at an average price of $1,771, with an unrealized profit of $2.3 million at the market peak.
Furthermore, a giant whale has opened up a short position in the $ETH-BTC trading pair. The whale has withdrawn 3,644 cbBTC worth $304 million from Coinbase.
Following the withdrawal, the whale deposited 3,034 cbBTC worth $253 million on Aave. Finally, the whale borrowed 79,638 $ETH worth $152 million from Aave to deposit on Coinbase.
Ethereum in a Range Nears Key Resistance
As the bearish elements continue to resurface for Ethereum, the consolidation range in the 4-hour price chart remains intact. Currently, the short-term consolidation is approaching a resistance trendline in the center pivot level at $1,931.
As the market sentiment remains bearish, the possibility of a breakout rally for Ethereum is quite limited. Furthermore, the resistance trendline has kept three bullish attempts in check, resulting in the downfall under the $2,000 mark.
Currently, the $1,850 psychological mark acts as the crucial support level for the consolidation range. In case of a range breakdown, the crucial support for Ethereum is at $1,754.
On a bullish front, a breakout rally with the broad market recovery could challenge the 100-day EMA near the $2,083 mark.