Ethereum Whales Fuel Price Rise as Institutional Demand Returns

Ethereum whales have been accumulating large amounts of ETH in recent weeks, and their efforts may be starting to pay off. According to Glassnode data, the number of whale addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH has been steadily increasing since early June, with a current count of around 4,850 addresses. This trend is also reflected in the 30-day change metric, which has remained positive throughout July.

The accumulation by whales is not isolated to just one metric. US spot Ethereum ETF net flows have turned positive after roughly eight weeks dominated by outflows, with a total of $103.9 million added in the week ending July 24. This surge in institutional demand is a promising sign for the price of ETH.

However, there is still one key metric that refuses to confirm the recovery: active addresses. The 14-day moving average of Ethereum active addresses remains far below its February peak of around 800,000, which could indicate that accumulation is not yet backed by growing usage.

The price of ETH has been trading near $1,963 in recent days, up 4.3% in the last 24 hours. With a confirmed daily close above $2,000, Ethereum could potentially break out towards the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement at $2,438. However, rejection remains possible, and ETH could retest the 0.786 Fibonacci level at $1,754 or even the broken trendline near $1,600 if the breakout fails.