#数字资产市场动态 **Whales are hoarding ETH like crazy but not pushing the market? What's the magic trick happening in the market?**

Recently, the on-chain situation has become chaotic again. Since December, those with heavy capital have entered a buying spree—medium to large whales (holding between 100,000 and 1 million tokens) have accumulated over a million ETH, with a ruthless player single-handedly scooping up over 41,000 ETH in one month, making their account worth over a hundred million dollars easily. Normally, such large capital inflows should push the price straight to the sky, but what’s the reality? Ethereum is still hovering between $2900 and $3000, with no desire to go up, and even showing slight signs of retracement. It’s all quite heartbreaking.

**So why is this happening? The core reasons are these:**

First, whales don’t want to push the price up in the short term. They buy and then directly move the ETH into cold wallets or stake it for yields. The seemingly aggressive buying activity is more like wealthy people hoarding property to appreciate—intending to hold long-term, with no plans to speculate short-term. Even more surprisingly, they are bottom-fishing in the spot market while hedging in derivatives markets. This looks grand but actually has almost no effect on pushing the price higher; it’s mainly about reinforcing their positions.

Second, institutional money is fleeing. During the year-end period, Ethereum’s spot ETF saw several hundred million dollars in net outflows. Institutional investors are busy locking in profits and reducing risks, preparing for the Christmas holiday. Their funds are flowing into Bitcoin or meme coins within the Solana ecosystem. No one wants to chase high on Ethereum. Plus, staking yields are only around 3%, which is less attractive than just buying US Treasuries and earning a safe return. Meanwhile, Layer 2 solutions are diverting activity away from the mainnet. In this environment, who dares to chase high? Retail investors are in an even worse state; their fear index is only in the twenties, unable to see the market direction clearly. Many veteran players are quietly reducing their positions and selling off. As whales buy, others sell, creating a perfect hedge—so the price remains stagnant.

**But don’t be too pessimistic; things aren’t that hopeless.**

This round of whale accumulation has already hit a new all-time high. Historically, when accumulation reaches this level, it often triggers explosive moves. In the short term, we might need to sideways trade until January for a breakout signal. Fluctuating between 2800 and 3100 is normal; we’ll have to wait until the holidays are over and the market becomes active again.

Once macro policies turn dovish, ETFs see inflows, and Bitcoin hits new highs driving the entire sector, Ethereum reaching 3500 before the Spring Festival is possible. Looking further ahead to 2026, prices of 4000 to 5000 USD are well within expectations—if whales are so optimistic, what are we worried about?

What do you think? When will this sideways movement finally release its energy? Can ETH break the 3500 barrier before the Spring Festival? Share your predictions in the comments!