Ethereum whales post strongest net buying since 2018

Key takeaways:

  • Ethereum whales accumulated over 818,000 ETH ($2.5B) on June 15, their biggest daily inflow since 2018.

  • ETH price is consolidating inside a multimonth range, mirroring its 2017 breakout pattern.

  • Analysts see a short-term ETH target at $4,000, with the potential for $10,000.

One of Ethereumโ€™s richest address cohorts is stacking Ether (ETH) at the fastest pace since 2018, strengthening the case for a continued upside move in the cryptocurrencyโ€™s price.

Ethereum whales buy over $2.15 billion in ETH

As of June 15, the net position change of Ethereum wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH had jumped by over 818,410 ETH (~$2.5 billion), marking the highest daily inflow for this cohort in more than six years.

ETH whale net position change (addresses 1k to 10k ETH). Source: Glassnode

These addressesโ€”often associated with funds, early adopters, and whalesโ€”were collectively holding more than 16 million ETH on the same day, compared to 11.87 million ETH almost a year ago.

The accumulation spike coincides with a surge in institutional demand via Ether investment funds.

These ETH-focused funds attracted $583 million in the week ending June 13, pushing year-to-date net inflows to $2.28 billion, according to CoinSharesโ€™ weekly report.

Crypto fund flows by asset. Source: CoinShares

Ethereum mirroring 2017โ€™s playbook โ€” analyst

Etherโ€™s price has risen 90% in the past two months, led by the optimism around Ethereumโ€™s Pectra upgrade and the restructuring of its foundationโ€™s core team, but it remains trapped inside a multimonth consolidation channel.

For analyst Milkybull Crypto, the price action is similar to what followed a 10x price rally in 2017.

In 2016โ€“2017, ETH ranged inside the $10โ€“20 channel after the DAO hack and Ethereum Classic split. The market lacked conviction, but once the range broke, ETH surged to over $1,500 in under a year thanks to the ICO boom.

ETH/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

In 2024โ€“2025, ETH is again consolidating, this time inside the channel defined by $2,150 and $3,600, while holding above the 50-week (red) and 200-week (blue) exponential moving averages (EMA) supports.

The drivers are different (ETFs, staking, tokenization), but the setup is similar: ETH is coiling below resistance, just as before its last major breakout.

That puts its short-term ETH price target at around $4,000, aligning with the channelโ€™s upper trendline. Multiple analysts have signaled the same upside target for Ethereum in the past.

Related: Ethereum whale opens $11M leveraged bet amid ETH priceโ€™s 30% rise potential

Milkybull Crypto anticipates Ethereum to rise even further, noting in May that a $10,000 ETH price target โ€œcannot be ruled out.โ€

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.