Ether (ETH) price saw a daily candle close below $3,000 on Tuesday, but a positive is that data showed large holders were buying throughout the dip. While ETH whale accumulation signals growing confidence, conflicting indicators suggest rising market risk for the altcoin.
Key takeaways:
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ETH whales and institutional investors bought over $130 million in Ether as the price closed below $3,000 on Tuesday.
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BitMine added more than 92,500 ETH in January, showcasing the growing demand for staking yield.
Whales bought the dip as ETH traded below $3,000
ETH dropped 7.83% to $2,938 on Tuesday, marking its largest daily correction since November 4, 2025. Despite the drop, on-chain tracker Lookonchain reported ETH accumulation from whales and institutional investors.
According to the data, Trend Research borrowed 70 million USDT from Aave to purchase 24,555 ETH worth roughly $75.5 million, bringing its total holdings to 651,310 ETH valued at nearly $1.92 billion. Separately, an OTC whale address acquired 20,000 ETH, worth $58.8 million, via FalconX and Wintermute.
Institutional investor accumulation of ETH extended beyond trading desks. BitMine has added 92,511 ETH in January, valued at $268 million.
The ETH treasury company said it expects to become the largest Ethereum staking entity once its planned 4.2 million ETH is fully staked, generating an estimated $367 million to $393 million annually in staking rewards. The company added that it projects another $35 million to $40 million in income from cash operations.
However, not all large capital flows were supportive. On Wednesday, BlackRock transferred 30,828 ETH worth about $91 million to Coinbase Prime, fueling concerns over potential sell-side volatility.
Related: ETH derivatives metric turns positive after years of sell-side dominance
ETH breaks uptrend as downside liquidity comes into focus
From a technical standpoint, ETH’s longer-term chart suffered a bearish shift after closing below $3,000. The move also pushed the price below the four-month point of control near $3,100, the level where the highest volume traded over that period, signaling that the market has lost its most accepted price range.
The breakdown coincided with a bearish break of structure (BOS), suggesting trend continuation to the downside. Based on current liquidity clusters, ETH could eventually test external liquidity zones around $2,718 and $2,620.
Over the past 24 hours, $287 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, with longs accounting for $257 million, highlighting forced selling pressure.
Data from Hyblock adds to the cautious mood. The whale versus retail delta has flipped negative, falling to -6,480 for ETH, indicating that whales are reducing their long exposure or adding shorts more aggressively than retail traders. Such shifts have preceded periods of heightened short-term volatility.
On the other hand, 76% of retail traders are in long positions, pointing to the potential for a price reversal near the key swing lows.
Related: Bitcoin-to-gold ratio falls to new low, but analysts say BTC’s discounted ‘setups are rare’
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