ETH drops below 2,000. dollars, but whales flock as retail traders capitulate

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), fell to a one-year low of $1,927 on Thursday and is now down more than 60% from its all-time high of $4,950.

Analysts say the decline is the result of the belief of stress test holders, and data on the inflow of onchain and cryptocurrency exchanges indicate the beginning of a bear market. Despite the intensity of selling, one group of Ether holders are buying, but it is unclear whether this will support ETH regain $2,000.

Key takeaways:

Medium-sized holders (100-10,000 ETH) reduced their holdings, signaling a capitulation phase.
Huge holders (over 10,000 ETH) increased their exposure in the last quarter, absorbing the altcoin’s selling pressure.
ETH is trading below realized price for all investor cohorts, and rising currency inflows keep downside risks elevated.

Onchain data shows who holds, adds and capitulates

Over the last five months, balance data by Ether holder shows a clear shift in behavior across different wallet sizes.

This indicator explains which investors absorb downward pressure and which exit when prices return to May 2025 levels.

Data from CryptoQuant excellent that on August 18, 2025, wallets containing 100-1,000 ETH controlled 9.79 million ETH, 1,000-10,000 – 14.51 million ETH, 10,000-100,000 – 17.18 million ETH, and over 100,000 wallets held 2.75 million ETH.

Ether balance at holder’s value. Source: CryptoQuant

On Wednesday, the balances of the 100-1,000 and 1,000-10,000 cohorts dropped to 8.32 million ETH and 12.26 million ETH, respectively.

In contrast, wallets of 10,000-100,000 increased their holdings to 19.77 million ETH, while wallets of more than 100,000 increased to 3.68 million ETH.

The data showed accumulation by whales and gigantic players, while smaller and mid-sized holders appear to be contributing to the current price weakness.

Ether is also trading below each cohort’s realized price, which reflects the average cost at which each cohort last transferred their ETH. Realized prices range from $2,120 for over 100,000 holders to $2,690 for 100-1,000 holders, with ETH briefly closing below the total realized price of $2,630 on Saturday, a level associated with stress selling.

Cryptocurrencies, Ethereum, Technology, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Altcoin Watch, Whale — *ETH realized price by balance cohorts. Source: CryptoQuant*

Related: Ethereum Price: Classic Chart Pattern Focuses on ETH Below 2K dollars

Inflows from exchanges and recipient data maintain pressure on the ETH price

Ether exchange proceeds on Binance increased to around 1.63 million ETH on Wednesday, the highest daily reading since 2022. The gigantic inflows may reflect preparations for a sale or rebalancing, and a pointed enhance in inflows during a phase of feeble price action reinforces concerns.

Market execution data completes this picture. PelinayPA cryptocurrency analyst excellent that Binance’s Ether bid/sell ratio is “around 0.94” below the neutral level of 1. Both the 30- and 50-day averages remain below 1, suggesting that selling pressure is a dominant trend and not a passing phase.

PelinayPA added that this could also mark the start of a “true bear season” for the altcoin, expecting arduous price conditions to persist for some time.

Related: Vitalik Buterin sells $6.6 million worth of ETH after marking planned withdrawals

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