Ethereum Whales Are Quietly Accumulating While Short-Term Sellers Control the Price

[cryptobro]

Ethereum Whale Wallet Holdings. Source: Santiment

Beneath Ethereum's surface-level weakness, a split is developing between different categories of holders that is worth paying attention to. Santiment wallet data shows that whales holding between 1 million and 10 million ETH increased their combined holdings from 6.15 million to 6.54 million ETH between May 1 and May 20, accumulating approximately 390,000 ETH during a period of sustained price weakness. The pattern mirrors what has been observed in other assets during prolonged downturns, where larger, longer-horizon holders absorb supply being sold by shorter-term participants, gradually concentrating ownership into stronger hands even as price continues to struggle.

Mid-tier wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH moved in the opposite direction over the same period, cutting holdings from 27.77 million to 27.27 million ETH. The divergence between mega-whale accumulation and mid-tier selling creates a supply dynamic where the tokens being offloaded by more reactive holders are being absorbed by those with the deepest pockets and presumably the longest time horizons. Whether that accumulation ultimately supports a price recovery depends on whether it is enough to offset the broader sell-side pressure building on exchanges, but the pattern at least suggests that not all large participants share Wintermute's bearish near-term view on ETH.

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Whales bought 390,000 ETH while everyone else was selling

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