Whales move billions in Ethereum: selling and accumulation put pressure on ETH price

• Whales accumulate ETH despite price drop
• Kraken moves put downward pressure on Ethereum
• US$183 million inflow reinforces institutional interest

In early May 2025, Ethereum (ETH) began to reflect divergent movements from large holders. While some accumulated, others intensified significant sales, fueling short-term uncertainty about the trajectory of the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market.

On-chain data revealed that a whale purchased 3.029,6 ETH, valued at $5,74 million, accumulating the cryptocurrency despite a drop to $1.842 per unit — resulting in a temporary loss of $142. Also on May 1, multiple addresses acquired thousands of ETH in a matter of hours, indicating persistent confidence in the cryptocurrency’s medium- to long-term upside potential.

At the same time, other large investors demonstrated a strong selling bias. One whale transferred 2.680 ETH to the Kraken exchange, incurring a loss of approximately US$255. Another, in a matter of 10 minutes, moved 3.000 ETH also to Kraken, reinforcing the selling pressure. In particular, an address that participated in the Ethereum ICO in 2015 sold 6.000 ETH, pocketing an estimated profit of US$10,92 million.

10 minutes ago, whale 0xaDd deposited 3k $ ETH (~$5.53M) into #Kraken .

Those $ ETH were bought since ICO and have been dormant in 3 years before depositing.

Just now, he still has 2k $ ETH (~$3.69M) in his wallet.

Address: https://t.co/sEQRwaM32n pic.twitter.com/vuLzE65V2r

— The Data Nerd (@OnchainDataNerd) May 2, 2025

Another relevant piece of information came with the opening of short positions. A whale increased its short exposure by lending 4.000 ETH, totaling 10.000 ETH allocated against the asset's appreciation, equivalent to approximately US$18,4 million.

Despite the selling pressure, institutional flow signals resilience. Ethereum-focused investment products saw $183 million inflows last week. The cryptocurrency’s spot ETF alone received $6,49 million in inflows on May 1.