According to on-chain data platform Santiment, addresses holding at least 100,000 ETH currently hold a total of 17.41 million ETH, representing approximately 22.03% of the circulating supply of Ethereum. This percentage has risen to a near 10-week high, indicating that large holders are still accumulating tokens.
While on-chain holdings continued to increase, ETH's price performance did not improve accordingly. Market data shows that Ethereum has not yet effectively broken through key resistance levels, and there is a clear divergence between changes in on-chain holdings and short-term price movements.
Whale holdings continue to rise
Looking at the holdings structure, large-capital accounts did not significantly reduce their positions during the period of market volatility; instead, they continued to absorb market supply. This suggests that some long-term funds remain patient regarding future market trends, even though a clear upward trend has not yet formed in the broader market.
- The minimum holding requirement is 100,000 ETH.
- Total holdings: 17.41 million ETH
- It accounts for 22.03% of the total supply.
Derivatives trading is becoming more cautious
In contrast to the on-chain increase in holdings, risk appetite in the derivatives market has declined. Data shows that ETH open interest decreased by 3.92% from the previous period to $15.42 billion, indicating that leveraged traders actively reduced their positions during the recent consolidation.
Such changes typically indicate that short-term funds lack sufficient confidence in the next direction. Although whales are still increasing their holdings, speculative funds have not increased their bets accordingly, and market participation has actually weakened.
ETH remains in a range-bound trading pattern.
In terms of price, ETH is currently trading between the support level of $1847 and the resistance level of $2419. The article mentions that the price fluctuated around $2007 at one point. Buying pressure repeatedly held the lower edge, preventing further price declines, but selling pressure above continued to limit the upside potential.
Technical indicators suggest that the current trend strength remains high, and bearish pressure has not yet eased significantly. This means that if buying pressure cannot increase further, ETH may continue to consolidate within a range in the short term.
Funding rates remain bullish.
Despite the decline in open interest, funding rates remained positive, reflecting that derivatives traders remaining in the market generally still favored long positions. In other words, while the number of market participants decreased, active funds did not completely shift to a bearish stance.
However, a positive funding rate alone is not enough to drive a sustained price recovery. If ETH fails to break through the upper resistance level, long positions may actually amplify short-term volatility.
Overall, Ethereum is currently exhibiting two parallel signals: on one hand, whales are continuously increasing their holdings, and on the other hand, derivatives positions are declining and prices are maintaining a range. If subsequent buying pushes ETH back above the upper limit of the range, the on-chain buying signal may more directly translate into price performance.
