Ethereum Price News: Whale Activity Could Push ETH to $2,800

Ethereum (ETH) has dropped by 3% in the past week, but has managed to stay above the $2,000 level as whales seem to be buying the dip.

So far this year, ETH has retreated by 30%, as market sentiment hit record lows, primarily amid rising geopolitical turmoil.

However, ETH has stabilized lately, trading in a range between $1,800 and $2,150 in the past month or so.

Whale activity may have been responsible for that, as on-chain data from Santiment shows that whales have bought a total of 240,000 ETH tokens (around $480 million) since March started.

In addition, the percentage of ETH tokens in profit according to this data provider has increased from 39.8% to 42.3%, possibly as these newly acquired ETH tokens have a lower cost basis.

The war in Iran could have made stablecoins appealing as a safe haven for investors in the Middle East.

These assets are loosely regulated, can be self-stored, and offer access to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that generate attractive yields. Many of these protocols are powered by the Ethereum blockchain and could see a spike in activity if inflows toward stablecoins accelerate.

Moreover, investors could opt to move their assets out of stablecoins and into decentralized tokens like ETH to hedge against the risk of asset freezes by centralized issuers like Tether (USDT) or Circle (USDC).

Trading Volumes Head Down as Selling Pressure Eases

Trading volumes have subsided recently, according to data from Santiment. This could be an early indication that the selling pressure has eased, which could now create significant upside risk.

There should be significant liquidity standing above the $2,150 level – a key technical threshold – in the form of stop orders for outstanding short positions.

We have already seen spikes in liquidations every time the price rises to those levels, which raises the odds of a short squeeze if bulls manage to get things moving.

The 4-hour chart shows a clear pattern of consolidation. Paired with higher whale participation, this is a clear indication that we have entered a stage of accumulation. Right now, we need a breakout above $2,150 to get a stronger rally toward $2,800 going.

This means an attractive 30% upside potential for ETH. What exactly could spark this move is not that clear. It could be worsening geopolitical conditions or looser monetary policies across the globe to contain the negative impact that higher oil prices could have on the global economy.

Buy Signal Flashes During the American Session

Heading to the hourly chart, we got a buy signal just three hours ago, after the American session started. This signal could be an early indication that institutions are ready to push the price higher.

We still need to wait for a key level breakout or retest before taking any signal seriously. As long as the price stays above $2,000, any buy signal could be considered a good entry. However, the ideal scenario would be a breakout above $2,150 accompanied by one of these “decisional” candles.

That would create an attractive entry with a huge risk-reward ratio if we expect ETH to climb to $2,800 in the next few weeks.