Ethereum is experiencing a noticeable shift in derivatives positioning as long positions with high leverage decline sharply across the globe. market. The reduction suggests that many overly aggressive, bullish trades were either closed voluntarily or forced as a result of recent liquidation events.
Could Ethereum be preparing for another miniature squeeze?
Cryptocurrency investor and data analyst known as CW on X he noticed that Ethereum is undergoing a significant deleveraging phase as highly leveraged longs continue to decline significantly across the market. At the same time, miniature positions have increased slightly, indicating that the market is not yet heavily crowded on the bear side.
Overall high leverage exposure scale remains relatively low, suggesting reduced systemic risk compared to earlier phases. Moreover, most of the greedy long positions have already been liquidated and the focus is now on liquidating the miniature positions.
In this phase of the market, Ethereum whales are exhibiting behavior not seen in over a year, potentially signaling a major shift in market dynamics. An analyst known as Ali Charts revealed that as of October 6, 2025, wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH have undergone a significant change in their market behavior.
Before this change, this cohort was in a regime of constant accumulation. In the period from April to October 6, 2025, their resources increased from approximately 12.95 million ETH to almost 15.95 million ETH. However, this trend has now been dramatically reversed.
As of October 6, the stock of these mid-tier whales has dropped from 15.95 million ETH to approximately 12.52 million ETH, representing 21.5% decrease in their complete position.
With a significant amount of supply entering the market via whale distribution, any sustained move towards the $3,000 level may now depend on a modern wave of institutional or retail demand able to absorb the selling pressure.
Ethereum’s relative weakness to Bitcoin
Ethereum continues to show signs of weakness relative to Bitcoin, with recent market action reinforcing a more breakable short-term structure. Crypto trader KriptoHolder also did this excellent that selling pressure on ETH has intensified, pushing price action towards the $2,273 region.
At the same time, retail investors remain heavily oriented to the long side, with around 73.19% bullish, while miniature positions stand at around 26.80%, reflecting a crowded trade that often becomes vulnerable during downturns. However, Whales vs Retail Delta is currently -22.01, which shows that the whale side continues to exert significant selling pressure.
According to KriptoHolder, ETH would likely need to experience two major changes: a reduction in aggressive selling on the whale side and the return of significant purchases on the spot market supportbefore a stronger upward rebound becomes possible. For now, ETH appears to be stuck in a more vulnerable position, with market elements showing less resilience than BTC.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
