Ethereum News Today: Ethereum's Stalemate: Whale Accumulation Clashes with Short-Term Exodus

Ethereum's price action has become a battleground for contrasting forces as a prominent swing trader secures a $40 million short position, achieving a win rate exceeding 80% within the current trading swing. This development unfolds amid a broader market dynamic where whale activity and technical patterns suggest potential volatility, though short-term holders remain cautious.

Large Ethereum wallets, often seen as barometers of institutional interest, have accumulated roughly 170,000 ETH—valued at $660 million—between October 21 and 23, signaling renewed buying interest, according to a Yahoo report. This accumulation coincides with a triple bottom pattern forming on the 4-hour chart, with support consolidating around $3,750–$3,800, a Cointelegraph analysis noted. The pattern, a classic bearish reversal setup, hints at a possible 10% rebound if ETH breaks above the neckline resistance near $3,950–$4,000. Analysts note that such a move could propel prices toward $4,280 by early November, though confirmation requires a surge in trading volume, the Cointelegraph piece added.

However, optimism is tempered by the behavior of short-term holders. On-chain data reveals that wallets holding ETH for less than a month have reduced their collective share of the supply since mid-October, with 24-hour holders dropping from 0.887% to 0.48%, the Yahoo report observed. This exodus of smaller traders has created a "wall of doubt," preventing whale-driven inflows from translating into sustained price gains. The push-pull dynamic has trapped ETH in a narrow range, oscillating between $3,700 and $4,000 despite rising network activity, a Crypto.News piece reported.

Technical indicators offer mixed signals. Ethereum's daily chart shows a bullish divergence, with lower lows in price contrasting against higher lows in the Relative Strength Index (RSI), suggesting waning selling pressure, the Yahoo report also noted. Meanwhile, the asset trades within an ascending triangle pattern, a formation historically prone to upward resolution once resistance at $3,989–$4,137 is breached, the same Yahoo coverage observed. Conversely, a breakdown below $3,700 could trigger a pullback toward $3,300–$3,400, particularly if decentralized finance (DeFi) growth—a key driver of network demand—slows, the Crypto.News analysis warned.

Mega whales, defined as wallets holding 10,000–100,000 ETH, have intensified their accumulation, now controlling nearly 28 million ETH—a pace unseen in years, Cointelegraph reported. This shift in ownership underscores confidence in Ethereum's long-term value, even as near-term volatility persists. Analysts like Kamran Asghar highlight that such whale activity often precedes broader market rallies, though he cautions that the $4,800–$5,000 range remains a critical resistance zone, the Cointelegraph piece added.

The swing trader's success in capitalizing on this environment reflects the asset's fragmented market sentiment. While whales and technical setups point to eventual upside, short-term holders' reluctance to commit creates a fertile ground for high-win-rate strategies exploiting range-bound trading. With Ethereum's network activity rebounding—including daily transactions exceeding 1.2 million and rising DeFi total value locked—the stage is set for a pivotal test of whether $4,000 can transition from a ceiling to a floor, the Crypto.News coverage concluded.