Ethereum Whales Selling While Retail Buys? ‘Changing of Hands’ Below $2,000

▲ Ethereum (ETH) / ChatGPT-generated image ©

As Ethereum (ETH) struggles below the $2,000 mark, the market is drawing attention as a clear shift in ownership emerges, with large whale investors offloading holdings while retail investors aggressively accumulate.

According to cryptocurrency outlet Bitcoinist on February 13 (local time), on-chain data analytics platform Santiment reported that investment trends between large and small holders in the Ethereum market are moving in completely opposite directions. High-tier investors holding more than 1,000 coins are focusing on selling, while low-tier retail investors holding less than one coin are actively dominating the buy side.

Whales, who controlled more than 75% of the total supply before last Christmas, reduced their share by selling about 1.5% of their holdings. Meanwhile, continuous buying by mid-tier investors holding between 1 and 1,000 coins pushed their share above 23% for the first time since July 2025. Holdings by small investors also hit a record high of 2.3% of the total supply. This redistribution signals a structural shift in the market, dispersing supply that was previously concentrated among a few into a broader investor base.

Santiment attributed the sharp rise in small wallet addresses largely to the growing popularity of Ethereum staking. The number of validators on the Ethereum network has surpassed one million, with 36.8 million ETH—about 30% of the total supply—currently staked, valued at approximately $72 billion.

According to investment media outlet Milk Road, surging demand for deposits has extended the waiting time for investors to stake to 71 days and 11 hours. While 4.1 million ETH are queued for staking, only 75,872 ETH are awaiting withdrawal, highlighting a stark contrast. Despite a current staking yield of around 2.83%, the fact that roughly $74 billion remains locked during a price downturn suggests investors are not chasing short-term gains but instead hold strong conviction in Ethereum’s long-term value.

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