Ethereum Whales Quietly Accumulate, Hinting at Major Gains
Ethereum is regaining strong bullish momentum as major investors ramp up their holdings during the latest crypto market correction, signaling renewed optimism for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. On-chain data, institutional inflows, and analyst commentary all point to Ethereum being well-positioned for significant gains in the months ahead.
Whales Accumulate Ethereum Amid Market Uncertainty
According to on-chain analytics platform Santiment, whales—wallets holding between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH—have increased their balances by 14% over the past five months.
This accumulation coincided with a price rally for the altcoin leader, where ETH gained 132%, significantly outperforming Bitcoin’s 34% over the same period. At the time of writing, the crypto is trading at $4,390, up 0.66% in the past 24 hours, based on data from CoinMarketCap.
Institutional Flows Add to ETH’s Strength
Ethereum’s bullish positioning is also being supported by strong institutional inflows. Data from Artemis shows $9.9 billion in netflows to the Ethereum chain in the past three months, alongside $6.7 billion in stablecoin inflows just last week, according to Token Terminal.
Meanwhile, ETH ETFs (exchange-traded funds) have posted $3.87 billion in inflows in August and $1.08 billion last week, far outpacing Bitcoin ETFs, which saw $751 million in outflows in August and smaller inflows of $440 million last week, according to Farside Investors data.
However, the last three days brought notable outflows from Ethereum ETFs, reflecting investor caution amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
The US spot Ethereum ETFs continued their outflows on Sept. 3, when investors pulled $38.2 million from the funds. BlackRock’s ETHA was the only ETH ETF to record net daily outflows on the day, with $151.4 million leaving its reserves. Despite being the only fund to experience negative flows, the ETF’s outflows were enough to negate the net daily inflows posted by other spot Ethereum ETFs, which included Fidelity’s FETH ($65.8 million), Bitwise’s ETHW ($20.8 million), and Grayscale’s ETH ($26.6 million).
US spot ETH ETF flows (Source: Farside Investors)
Analysts warn that while long-term momentum remains bullish, short-term sentiment could remain volatile.
Ethereum’s strength is also underpinned by growing demand from digital asset treasury strategies. Ether Machine raised $654 million on Sept. 2, building on a prior $800 million round that included 169,984 ETH (worth $741 million) contributed by Co-Founder and Chairman Andrew Keys.
Despite short-term risks, several experts see Ethereum on the verge of a major breakout. Andrew Melville, head of research at Block Scholes, believes Ethereum and other altcoins with strong DeFi ecosystems are poised to benefit from a more constructive U.S. regulatory stance.
Meanwhile, Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s Chief Investment Officer and BitMine chairman, highlighted the crypto’s four-year consolidation as one of the most compelling investment setups into year-end. Using Wyckoff’s methodology, he argued that “the bigger the base, the bigger the breakout,” recalling that the crypto’s last major base led to a 54x price surge.
