The price of ether (ETH) fell below $3,000 on Tuesday, but the positive is that data showed that vast holders were buying throughout the decline. While the accumulation of ETH whales signals growing confidence, conflicting indicators suggest increasing market risk for the altcoin.

Key takeaways:

• ETH whales and institutional investors bought more than $130 million in Ether as the price fell below $3,000 on Tuesday.

• BitMine added over 92,500 ETH in January, showing growing demand for staking profitability.

Whales bought the dip when ETH price dropped below $3,000

ETH fell 7.83% to $2,938 on Tuesday, marking the largest daily correction since November 4, 2025. Despite the decline, onchain tracker Lookonchain reported ETH accumulation from whales and institutional investors.

According to Trend Research data borrowed 70 million USDT (USDT) from Aave to purchase 24,555 ETH worth $75.5 million, bringing total holdings to 651,310 ETH worth $1.92 billion. Separately, the OTC whale address raised 20,000 ETH worth $58.8 million via FalconX and Wintermute.

ETH accumulation by institutional investors extended beyond trading desks. BitMine added 92,511 ETH worth $268 million in January.

ETH treasury company he said expects to become the largest Ethereum stakeholder after fully staking the planned 4.2 million ETH, generating an estimated $367 million to $393 million annually in staking rewards. The company added that it anticipates another $35 million to $40 million in income from cash operations.

However, not all vast capital flows have been beneficial. BlackRock on Wednesday transferred 30,828 ETH worth approximately $91 million for Coinbase Prime, fueling concerns about potential sell-side volatility.

Related: ETH Derivatives Indicator Turns Positive After Years of Sell-Side Dominance

ETH breaks the uptrend as it focuses on downside liquidity

From a technical perspective, ETH’s long-term chart has become bearish after closing below $3,000. The move also pushed the price below the four-month breakpoint near $3,100, the level that saw the most trading volume during that period, signaling that the market had lost its most accepted price range.

The collapse coincided with a bearish breakout of the structure (BOS), suggesting a continuation of the downward trend. Based on current liquidity clusters, ETH may eventually test outer liquidity zones around $2,718 and $2,620.

Over the past 24 hours, leveraged positions worth $287 million were liquidated, with long positions totaling $257 million, highlighting the forced selling pressure.

Data from Hyblock he adds to a cautious mood. The whale’s delta against retail has turned negative, falling to -6,480 for ETH, indicating that whales are reducing their long exposures or adding tiny positions more aggressively than retail traders. Such changes preceded periods of increased short-term volatility.

On the other hand, 76% of retail investors are long, indicating the possibility of a price reversal near key lows.

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