Ethereum News Today: Whale Bets Against the Market as ETH Hovers at a Crossroads

Ethereum’s price movements have triggered significant volatility in derivatives markets, with key price levels acting as focal points for leveraged trading activity. If Ethereum rebounds and breaches the $4,300 threshold, data from Coinglass indicates that the total short liquidation intensity on major centralized exchanges could reach $1.336 billion. Conversely, a drop below $4,000 would trigger cumulative long liquidation intensity of $1.223 billion, underscoring the concentration of open interest at these levels [4]. These figures highlight the growing leverage in the market, particularly in the $4,300–$4,360 range, where a dense cluster of short liquidations has been observed [1].

A major Ethereum whale recently opened a $16.35 million long position with 25x leverage, placing it at $4,229.83 per ETH. This move reflects a bullish outlook as the whale aims to capitalize on a potential rebound. The position is already slightly in profit, and a 1% rise in ETH’s price would yield approximately $163,000 in gains. The whale’s timing appears to align with fresh liquidation heatmaps, which show a high concentration of short liquidations around the $4,336 level. This liquidity cluster could magnify price movements if the market pushes into that area [1].

Technically, Ethereum is currently hovering above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), a critical support line that has historically guided the uptrend since July. This support level now coincides with the lower boundary of a falling wedge pattern on the daily chart, a bullish reversal setup. If the pattern holds, Ethereum could see a potential target of $4,750, a 13% increase from current levels. A break below $4,140, however, would invalidate the bullish case [1].

On a broader scale, Ethereum’s recent price trajectory has drawn attention from institutional investors and corporate treasuries. At the Ethereum NYC 2025 event, executives highlighted the token’s role in a future financial system, emphasizing its programmable smart contract capabilities. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum serves as a platform for decentralized applications, generating demand through transaction fees and enterprise use cases. However, the token still faces challenges, including competition from faster blockchains like Solana and a lack of consistent buyer demand [2].

Despite the bullish signals, Ethereum ETFs have experienced outflows, with $197 million withdrawn on a single day—the second-highest daily withdrawal in history. This exodus reflects profit-taking after the cryptocurrency surged 66% in the past year. Meanwhile, unstaking queues have also hit record levels, with $3.9 billion in pending ETH withdrawals. Analysts warn that these factors are putting pressure on near-term sentiment, particularly as Ethereum remains below its all-time high of $4,891.70 [3].

The interplay between leveraged positions, institutional adoption, and market sentiment underscores Ethereum’s precarious position in the current market cycle. While bullish technicals and whale activity point to a potential rebound, the risk of liquidations looms large, especially in a leveraged environment. As the market approaches critical support and resistance levels, the balance between buying and selling pressure will determine Ethereum’s next move.

Source:

[1] Ethereum whale opens $16.3M long as ETH price eyes bounce (https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-whale-opens-16-3m-long-as-eth-price-eyes-bounce)

[2] Ethereum's Big Backers Unleash Billions to Push Into Wall Street (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ethereum-big-backers-unleash-billions-130704758.html)

[3] Ethereum ETFs Lose $197 Million—Even Worse Than Bitcoin (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ethereum-etfs-lose-197-million-152531921.html)

[4] If Ethereum falls below $4000, the cumulative long (https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2198674)