- Whales accumulate over $150M in ETH as price consolidates below $2,800, signaling strong conviction amid tight market structure.
- Ethereum remains range-bound between $2,400 and $2,800, with repeated rejections at resistance and firm support attracting buyers.
- Rising open interest and steady volume suggest growing institutional and retail participation despite ETH’s prolonged consolidation.
Ethereum’s market structure shows strong consolidation, as whales ramp up accumulation. According to Lookonchain, wallet 0xc097 withdrew 13,037 ETH (valued at $35.5 million) from Binance within the past 24 hours. Moreover, Abraxas Capital executed larger moves, pulling 44,612 ETH ($123 million) from Binance and Kraken in just 14 hours at the time of the post. Despite whale activity, ETH currently trades at $2,774.4 on Bitstamp, reflecting a minor $18.8 drop or 0.67% decline. This comes as Ethereum struggles to break above $2,800 amid a prolonged consolidation phase.
Price Action and Key Resistance Levels
Ethereum’s price journey since late April started near $1,500 levels. Momentum strengthened sharply by early May, leading to a breakout above the $2,000 resistance. Consequently, ETH surged to around $2,400 before facing selling pressure. This marked the start of a sideways trend confined between $2,400 and $2,800.
Source: TradingView
Besides, multiple breakout attempts above $2,800 failed, with each rejection triggering pullbacks toward the midrange. Support levels near $2,400 consistently attracted buying interest. These levels held firm during several tests, underlining their technical importance. Hence, traders continue to respect this defined range, locking ETH into predictable price behavior.
Volume and Futures Market Correlation
Current trading volume sits at 204 ETH, while the accumulation/distribution line trends upward to 410.48K. Additionally, the On-Balance Volume (OBV) remains steady at 39.89K. Volume analysis highlights intensified activity near breakouts and boundary tests. Moreover, directional moves often align with these volume surges, signaling meaningful attempts to escape the range.
Meanwhile, crypto analyst CryptoGoos shared insights on ETH futures open interest. Futures participation continues climbing in tandem with price movements. Since mid-2024, both metrics have shown strong correlation. In fact, open interest now holds above $3.0K levels, even as ETH consolidates.
Source: CryptoGoos
Besides, historical trends show open interest often peaks alongside bullish price action. Price reached $4,800 in late 2023 while open interest hit $1.5K. After a steep decline in early 2024, ETH and futures interest recovered strongly. Consequently, sustained growth in futures participation suggests increasing institutional and retail involvement.
Ethereum’s range-bound behavior signals market equilibrium between buyers and sellers. However, increasing accumulation and rising open interest hint at a possible breakout. Moreover, volume metrics confirm ongoing interest during key price tests. If resistance near $2,800 breaks, ETH could reclaim higher levels swiftly.
