Ethereum [ETH] whales play ‘shy guy’ ahead of Shanghai Upgrade

• Holders of 10,000 to 1,000,000 ETH coins have reduced their holdings in the last month.
• Long-held ETH coins change hands as the Shanghai Upgrade draws closer.

Ahead of the 12 April date set for the Shanghai Upgrade, on-chain data revealed a gradual decline in Ether [ETH] holdings for whales that hold between 10,000 to 1,000,000 ETH coins.

According to data from on-chain data provider Santiment, this cohort of investors held 1298 ETH tokens at press time. In fact, on 23 March, their collective ETH holdings fell to the lowest level in the last month. 30 days ago, this group of ETH investors held 1313 ETH coins.

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Conversely, ETH whales that hold between 10 to 10,000 ETH coins have intensified their Ether holdings during the same period, data from Santiment showed.

Holding 358,100 ETH coins at press time, this group of ETH investors increased their holdings by 1% in the last month. As a result, they currently hold 28.87% of the total supply of the leading altcoin.

Source: Santiment

Long-held Ether coins see action

A further assessment of ETH’s on-chain performance in the last month revealed a slump in its Mean Coin Age and Mean Dollar Invested Age metrics on 22 March. 

Per Santiment Academy, Mean Coin Age refers to the average age of all coins/tokens on the blockchain. In contrast, Mean Dollar Invested Age refers to the average age of all coins/tokens on the blockchain weighted by the purchase price. 

A rise in an asset’s Mean Coin Age points to a network-wide accumulation of that token. On the other hand, when an asset’s Mean Dollar Invested Age increases, “it means that the locations of where the investments lie are becoming more and more dormant over time.”

While it is normal for an asset’s Mean Dollar Invested Age to increase on most days, if it continues to rise for an extended period, it may suggest stagnancy on the coin’s network, making it difficult for the price to grow.

The brief decline in ETH’s Mean Coin Age and Mean Dollar Invested Age on 22 March indicated that long-held ETH coins changed hands, signaling a momentary drop in accumulation. 

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A look at ETH’s exchange activity revealed a spike in the coin’s supply outside of exchanges on that day. This meant that while long-held ETH coins changed addresses, they were not sold. In fact, they have moved off exchanges and could have been staked. 

Source: Santiment

At press time, the total value of ETH staked was 17.86 million ETH coins, having grown by 4% in the last month, according to data from Glassnode. During the same period, the total number of validators on the proof-of-stake network rallied by 4.2%.

Source: Glassnode