Decoding Ethereum’s 157M dormant whale move after 9 years

Ethereum whale activity increased sharply during the recent market retracement, with dormant holders returning to the network.

According to Arkham, a whale that acquired 69,400 Ethereum [ETH] during the 2015 ICO became active again after nine years. The wallet moved 69,878 ETH, worth nearly $157 million, across three newly created addresses.

The transfer may point to two possible scenarios.

First, the whale may have relocated assets for security reasons following recent dormant wallet exploits previously reported by AMBCrypto.

Second, the movement could signal preparations for future selling activity through smaller wallet distributions.

Did the whale transfer affect ETH?

Despite the attention around the transfer, the movement itself appeared neutral for Ethereum’s market structure.

The tokens had not entered exchanges at press time, meaning circulating sell-side pressure had not increased yet. At the same time, broader exchange activity still pointed toward accumulation.

Exchange Netflow turned negative and dropped to -11.9k, reflecting rising outflows from trading platforms.

Negative Exchange Netflow usually indicates that buyers moved assets off exchanges and into private wallets. That shift suggested some market participants still accumulated ETH despite recent weakness.

Why does Ethereum still look weak?

Even with rising accumulation, Ethereum’s broader structure remained fragile.

AMBCrypto observed that downside momentum strengthened slightly as bullish pressure weakened further. The Directional Movement Index showed the ADX near 25 while the +DI stayed below 20.

That setup reflected weak trend strength and limited bullish momentum.

On top of that, ETH dropped below the EMA and MA Crossover levels, reinforcing the market’s weak structure. AMBCrypto also found that institutional sentiment remained one of Ethereum’s biggest pressure points.

The Coinbase Premium Index stayed negative for more than two weeks, printing positive only once during that stretch.

Historically, ETH has struggled whenever U.S. institutional investors turned bearish. Under these conditions, ETH may remain vulnerable to additional downside pressure.

If weakness persists, Ethereum could lose the $2.2k support level and slide toward $2,175.

For sentiment to improve, bulls would likely need a daily close above the EMA and MA Crossover near $2,320.

Final Summary

• A dormant Ethereum whale moved nearly $157 million worth of ETH after staying inactive for nine years.
• ETH risked falling toward $2,175 if buyers failed to reclaim the EMA and MA Crossover region near $2,320.