Ethereum Whale Rotation Favors ETH as ETF Demand Remains Weak

Traders are closely watching the Ethereum market as a significant whale rotation has taken place. A 'whale' is an individual or entity that holds large amounts of cryptocurrency, and this particular whale has been associated with 11 new wallets. Over the last three days, these wallets have liquidated approximately $45.83 million in Bitcoin on Hyperliquid and re-accumulated around 18,780 ETH.

This rotation of capital into Ethereum is seen as a short-term positive for the coin's relative strength. However, institutional flows continue to be under pressure, with U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recording negative flows for the third straight day, totaling -$39.24 million on September 17.

Ethereum has been trading within a range of $2,370 and $2,550 since August 21, and this prolonged consolidation increases the likelihood of a strong directional move once the price breaks out of the range. A break below $2,370 could trigger a correction towards the $2,200-$2,250 area, where the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) is located.

The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade will be an important catalyst for Ethereum, currently under devnet testing with the next major testnet step being the Sepolia testnet fork on October 6. Until then, technical signals are likely to remain the main short-term price driver.