Ethereum whales buy the dip as exchange reserves drop 475,000 ETH

Ethereum's largest holders bought the crash while exchange reserves fell, signaling a supply squeeze near $1,600.

Ethereum whales accumulated more than 60,000 ETH near $1,606 after the token crashed 40% from mid-May highs to a 14-month low of $1,500.

"Large holders are treating the selloff as an entry point rather than an exit," Amr Taha, an analyst at on-chain data provider, said.

An early Ethereum investor who sold 60,000 ETH near $2,040 before the decline repurchased 60,088 ETH and 10,000 wrapped staked ETH at $1,606, according to Lookonchain data. The same wallet also added 611 WBTC at $63,280, buying back more than the 600 WBTC sold earlier at $78,538.

The accumulation has coincided with a sharp decline in exchange-held supply. Tracked ETH reserves on Binance, OKX, Gemini and Bitfinex fell by about 475,000 ETH in early June, tightening available liquidity on centralized platforms.

A wallet linked to Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin moved 80,000 ETH worth roughly $123.5 million into MakerDAO-linked wallets, on-chain data shows. The transfer appeared aimed at reducing liquidation risk while maintaining long-term exposure, rather than selling into weakness.

Chun Wang, the Bitcoin mining entrepreneur, also accumulated during the selloff. A wallet linked to Wang withdrew 17,560 ETH worth $28.67 million from Binance within 16 hours, according to Lookonchain. Even the hacker behind the Pando Rings exploit spent 10 million DAI to purchase 6,234 ETH at $1,602, showing confidence in current prices.

Staking Demand Outweighs Exits by 62x

While price action looks weak, staking behavior tells a different story. The validator entry queue holds approximately 3.1 million ETH worth $5.45 billion waiting to be staked, compared with only about 49,700 ETH queued for unstaking. That gives staking demand a 62-to-1 advantage over exits, data from the Ethereum beacon chain shows.

Cohort-level data from Santiment reveals the buying was concentrated among the largest wallets. Addresses holding 1 million to 10 million ETH added roughly 290,000 ETH in the first week of June, lifting their balance to about 6.89 million ETH. Mid-sized wallets holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH moved in the opposite direction, cutting their stack to about 26.87 million ETH.

Technical Setup Points to Potential Reversal

The TD Sequential indicator flashed a buy signal on Ethereum's daily chart, according to analyst Ali Martinez. ETH also dropped to 0.026 against Bitcoin during Friday's selloff, a level that Michaël van de Poppe said makes accumulation a "wise strategy" given that yields are likely peaking in the short term.

Ethereum traded at $1,664 as of Monday, up more than 3% from Friday's low. The $1,500 support zone remains the key level to watch. A failure to hold that area could expose ETH to another leg lower before any sustainable reversal begins.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.