Whales Buy, Retail Sells: What’s Next for Ethereum?

Ethereum whales added millions of ETH in 2025 as retail sold off, while developer activity reached record highs and key price levels remain in focus.

At the same time, network activity has reached a new high, indicating increased demand from builders and long-term owners.

Whales are increasing their holdings as retail disappears

The latest data shows a clear difference between large and small investors. The balance of wallets containing large amounts of ETH will grow from approximately 14 million to over 22.2 million tokens by 2025. Meanwhile, retail portfolios have fallen from 11 million ETH to 8.3 million.

Crypto analyst Mr. Crypto commented,

“Whales Collect Ethereum While Retailers Dump Their Bags.”

His graph clearly illustrates the change. While private investments fell throughout the year, major investors steadily expanded their positions.

In support of this view is a recent one CryptoPotato The report shows that wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH now collectively hold more than 21 million tokens. Currency reserves have also fallen by more than 4 million ETH this year, indicating fewer coins available for trading.

Developer activity is at an all-time high

Ethereum is also seeing record levels of developer activity. On-chain statistics show that 8.7 million smart contracts were deployed in the fourth quarter of 2025, which is the highest quarter ever. BMNRBullz declared“This isn’t speculation, it’s builder shipping”, pointing to a growing use of the Ethereum network that goes beyond price speculation.

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More smart contracts suggest increased use of applications, infrastructure and real-world assets. This increase in on-chain usage is being closely monitored by institutions that look beyond price trends.

Market levels to watch

Ethereum is trading around $2,940, down 3% over the past day and 1% over the week. The asset has fluctuated between $2,900 and $3,050 over the past 24 hours. Analysts are eyeing key levels near $2,880 for support and $3,060 for resistance.

CRYPTOWZRD said,

“A rejection after a retest of the $2,880 support would provide even more upside.”

They added that a move above $3,060 could trigger another long opportunity. The intraday structure remains tied to Bitcoin’s movement, but ETH remains above key levels.

On the weekly chart, Ethereum continues to form a large structure that could act as a bull flag. Bitcoinsensus shared a chart showing a series of higher lows and lower highs since 2022. A recent failed breakout attempt was followed by more consolidation. If ETH breaks out of the higher range, the technical target is near $7,000.

Other traders look at the monthly charts for a possible double bottom setup. Trader Tardigrade called attention to a possible formation of a breakout pattern, while Ted marked Liquidity is around $2,900 and $3,100, which traders in key zones are looking at in the short term.