ETH Crashes 10%, Smart Money Piles In as Whales and Institutions Double Down

Ethereum (ETH) dropped sharply over the past 24 hours, losing nearly 10% to trade below $3,200. The latest plunge extended a week-long decline that has pressured the broader cryptocurrency market.

Despite the downturn, accumulation continued across multiple wallets.

Stealth Accumulation Wave

Lookonchain reported that BitMine Immersion Technologies, the Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury (DAT) firm led by Wall Street strategist Thomas Lee, remains active in the market. The on-chain analytics platform identified a new wallet, likely linked to the company, receiving 9,176 ETH from the Galaxy Digital OTC wallet. This stash is worth around $29.14 million.

Ethereum longs have also been increasing, particularly among high-profile investors. Taiwanese music celebrity and digital asset investor Jeffrey Huang, known on-chain as “Machi Big Brother,” along with his brother “Machi Small Brother,” are both long ETH and currently in the red.

As prices fell, Machi Big Brother added 7,400.7 ETH (worth $23.55 million) on Hyperliquid with a liquidation price of $3,040.6, while Machi Small Brother deposited 5,000 ETH (valued at $15.9 million) and additional margin to avoid liquidation, with a liquidation price of $2,794.71.

Meanwhile, another whale investor 66kETHBorrow added another 16,937 ETH, which is worth $53.91 million, raising total purchases to 422,175 ETH, around $1.34 billion. These transactions indicate continued institutional and whale accumulation despite Ethereum’s recent sharp decline.

Mixed ETH Holder Behavior Emerges

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported that 2.53 million ETH were bought at around $3,150, which essentially means that this level has become a strong support zone as buyers stepped in heavily during the recent price drop. However, not all investor cohorts are reacting the same way to the price drop.

Glassnode’s latest analysis shows that long-term Ethereum holders have sharply increased their spending activity during the recent market pullback. Since late August, as ETH retreated from its peak, wallets holding ETH for 3 to 10 years have accelerated their average daily distribution to more than 45,000 ETH per day based on the 90-day simple moving average. This surge is the highest spending level from seasoned investors since February 2021, which indicates that a segment of long-term holders is taking profits or reallocating as market conditions weaken.

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