Despite a recent price decline to around $2,000, Ethereum (ETH) whales are aggressively accumulating the asset, signaling strong long-term conviction. On-chain analyst CW reported that full-scale accumulation by large holders began in May 2025 when ETH was near $2,500. The flow of funds into accumulation addresses—wallets used for storage, not trading—has reached record highs, indicating a focus on holding rather than short-term price fluctuations.
Historical data shows this trend has intensified. While inflows were low and inconsistent between 2018-2020, they began picking up in 2023 and surged in 2024 and 2026. The flow into these addresses hit an all-time high in 2025, demonstrating growing belief in Ethereum's long-term value regardless of market rallies or corrections.
This accumulation coincides with ETH's price testing a critical technical support level. As of early March 2026, ETH traded near $1,986, sitting at the lower edge of a rising "macro range" that has framed price action since 2020. Analyst StoicTraderXBT highlighted this diagonal band, which supported prices after major selloffs in 2021 and 2022. Market observers like Columbus note that as long as this five-year support holds, Ethereum remains in an accumulation phase; a break below would signal a significant regime shift.
Meanwhile, trader sentiment on major exchanges remains heavily bullish. Data from CoinGlass reveals traders heavily favor long positions. On Binance, the ETH/USDT long-to-short account ratio stands at 1.78, and among top traders, it reaches 2.31. OKX shows a similar ratio of 1.71. This bullish tilt is reflected in liquidation data: over 24 hours, $104 million in positions were liquidated, with $74.9 million coming from short positions versus $29.27 million from longs.
However, on-chain metrics indicate large holders are currently facing unrealized losses. A CryptoQuant chart shared by James Easton shows the unrealized profit ratio for whale wallets (holding 1,000 to 10,000 ETH, 10,000 to 100,000 ETH, and >100,000 ETH) has dipped below zero. This means the average cost basis for these cohorts now sits above the current market price, putting them "underwater." Similar patterns were observed during the 2018-2019 and 2022 downturns before prices stabilized or reversed.
