Key market players continue to increase their exposure to Ethereum (ETH). They are investing millions of dollars in the second largest cryptocurrency.
This is happening despite recent price weakness, which caused the coin to drop nearly 3% this week. This divergence indicates that although the price is under pressure, institutional and whale investors are still showing a lot of confidence for the long term.
Price weakness does not deter large buyers
Data from BeInCrypto Markets show that Ethereum is struggling to hold its ground in a broader declining cryptocurrency market. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $2,929.23, a decrease of 1.06% in the past 24 hours.
Although the decline makes some investors uncertain, others see this as an opportunity to buy. Blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain highlighted that BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased 67,886 ETH, valued at approximately $201 million.
This came just after an earlier purchase, a day before, where the company bought 29,462 ETH worth $88.1 million from BitGo and Kraken. These consecutive purchases fit within the company's broader accumulation strategy.
In just the past week, BitMine acquired a total of 98,852 ETH, bringing its total Ethereum holdings above 4 million. With an Ethereum price just above BitMine’s average entry price of $2,991, the company seems unconcerned about the recent price fluctuations.
Another notable buyer was Trend Research. This investment firm, led by Jack Yi (founder of LD Capital), purchased 46,379 ETH today. This brings the institution's total holdings to approximately 580,000 ETH.
“They started buying ETH around early November at $3,400. So far, they have accumulated a total of 580,000 ETH (approximately $1.72 billion), with an estimated average cost basis of $3,208. This means they are currently sitting on an unrealized loss of about $141 million,” reported EmberCN.
In a public statement, Yi announced that the company is preparing to invest another $1 billion in ETH. He also advised against shorting Ethereum.
Also, large on-chain whales remain active. The wallet, known as the “66k ETH Borrow” whale, which previously amassed 528,272 ETH (worth approximately $1.57 billion), added another 40,975 ETH. That is valued at around $121 million.
“Since November 4, this whale has purchased a total of 569,247 ETH ($1.69 billion), of which $881.5 million was borrowed for the purchase via Aave,” noted Lookonchain.
Meanwhile, Fasanara Capital has employed a leverage strategy. The company bought 6,569 ETH worth $19.72 million in two days and deposited these into the Morpho protocol. They then borrowed $13 million USDC to buy even more Ethereum.
Ethereum whales divided as buying and selling increase
However, not all major players are accumulating; some are choosing to reduce their positions. BeInCrypto reported that Arthur Hayes sent 682 ETH, worth approximately $2 million, to Binance today.
According to Lookonchain, the executive sold 1,871 ETH worth $5.53 million in the past week while buying Ethena (ENA), Pendle (PENDLE), and ETHFI.
“We are stepping out of ETH and opting for high-quality DeFi names, which we believe will perform better as fiat liquidity improves,” Hayes wrote on X.
Onchain Lens also reported that the Bitcoin OG whale deposited 100,000 ETH worth approximately $292.12 million to Binance. Such large deposits at exchanges are often seen as a potential preparation for sale, although this does not always directly lead to liquidation.
Previously, ETHZilla also stated that he sold 24,291 ETH for approximately $74.5 million to pay off a senior secured convertible loan. Despite these various cash flows, BeInCrypto noted that the selling activity of long-term Ethereum holders has decreased by more than 95%.
