Whale Drama, Retail Rally: Ethereum’s Balancing Act

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Volatility continues to keep Ethereum flirting with the $2,000 line, never committing to a breakout. In this market mood, the big players are selling while the plucky underdogs are buying-because of course they are, it’s drama, darling.

Whale Selling Meets Retail Accumulation in a Market Split

Ethereum’s ongoing price action is taking a toll on investors, with the mood swinging like a pendulum at a midlife crisis convention. After the downward drift, a notable divergence is taking shape: large holders moving one way, small holders another.

Looking at Santiment’s report, the big fish are pushing toward the sell side while the smaller hands tilt toward the buy. Retail investors are stepping in to purchase, but the divergence hints that the whales might be locking in profits or repositioning for act two.

The current selling activity is seen among wallets with at least 1,000 ETH-the high-tier crowd. Meanwhile, buying is buzzing among wallets holding less than 1 ETH-the low-tier crowd. It’s all about range, darling.

Previously, these high-tier holders commanded more than 75% of Ethereum’s total supply. Since a Christmas dump of about 1.5% of the supply, they’re now below that level. Redistribution could shift supply from concentrated hands to a broader chorus, like a party where someone finally confesses to liking a cheaper canapé.

Mid-tier investors (those with 1-1,000 ETH) have also been steadily buying, pushing their collective stake back above 23% of the total supply for the first time since July 2025.

For smaller holders and low-tier investors, ETH accumulation has been rising, bringing their combined stash to 2.3% of supply-the highest ever. Santiment notes these wallets are likely swelling thanks to ETH staking.

Staking ETH Now Takes More Time

As Ethereum staking grows, the process is taking longer than a binge-worthy series finale. Milk Road on X reports waiting times of about 71 days and 11 hours to stake ETH. Staking reached 30% of the total supply, locking up 36.8 million ETH worth roughly $72 billion.

Meanwhile, validators have hit 1 million, securing the network. That’s one-third of all ETH illiquid, yielding a modest 2.83% APR by crypto standards-not exactly a beach view. The 4.1 million ETH queue suggests demand to stake is at an all-time high while the price sits below $2,000. The exit queue is basically a ghost town with just 75,872 ETH leaving. Conviction, not yield farming, says Milk Road. “Watch that queue, it’s a sentiment indicator.”

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2026-02-13 01:31