Over the years, the Ethereum ecosystem has been witnessing a fascinating trend of rapidly increasing Ethereum whales. These whales, who currently hold a significant portion of the total supply, have amassed 30.07 million Ethereum (ETH), worth over $9 billion, in their wallets.
At the beginning of the year, whales held 26.56 million ETH, marking a substantial increase in holdings. This buildup not only reflects investor confidence in Ethereum, but also highlights the growing interest surrounding the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Ethereum Whales And Their Growing Holdings
The growing number of Ethereum whales indicates a notable rise in the holdings of addresses that possess over 0.1% of the total supply. IntoTheBlock, a blockchain analytics firm, has reported this trend, bringing to light the enthusiastic accumulation of ETH by these distinguished institutional investors.
This accumulation is likely being driven by several factors, including Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism’s growing adoption.
Since Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to PoS, many ETH holders have been motivated to acquire additional tokens to stake and participate as validators. For example, Ethereum staking deposits have increased significantly since the launch of the highly-anticipated Shanghai upgrade, which great new features to the Ethereum network, enabling staked ETH.
Diverse Behavior Among Ethereum Holders
While Ethereum whales continue to amass ETH, different categories of Ethereum holders demonstrate different behaviors. Over the past 30 days, long-term holders, known as hodlers, increased their holdings by 4.54%, demonstrating unwavering faith in Ethereum’s long-term potential. Mid-term holders, also known as cruisers, decreased their balances slightly by 0.38%, while short-term holders, or traders, experienced a significant decrease of 17.5%.
It’s worth noting that the majority of Ethereum addresses belong to smaller holders, referred to as shrimps, who possess less than 0.1 ETH. On the opposite end of the spectrum, institutional investors and large Ethereum whales hold substantial influence over the market. Addresses holding between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH account for a significant portion of the coin’s total supply, currently valued at approximately $70.09 billion.
Clearly, the strategic accumulation and extensive holdings of large institutional investors underscore their significant impact on the Ethereum market dynamics, as their moves can sway prices and shape overall market sentiment.
The past week has been a blend of bulls and bears for Ethereum, which has only surged 0.7% over this period. Despite the accumulation of ETH from whales, daily trading volume has ranged between $3 billion and $6 billion—but will this trend continue?
Over the past 24 hours, ETH has continued in a downward trend, down nearly 1%, with a market price trading at $1,827, at the time of writing. Ethereum currently has a 24-hour trading volume sitting at $4.1 billion and a market capitalization above $200 billion.
-Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView
