Is it time to buy Ethereum? Whales add $280M in ETH, but…

With the crypto market recovering, Ethereum whales’ interest in ETH has surged notably. Especially since they appear to be seizing the market dip as an opportunity.

Last week alone, ETH lost more than 40% of its value. However, according to crypto transaction tracker Onchain Lens, crypto whales and institutions withdrew a massive 186,168 ETH worth approximately $280 million in just 24 hours. These withdrawals were recorded across multiple exchanges, including Kraken, Binance, Gate, and others.

Withdrawal of tokens from exchanges typically suggests potential accumulation, as assets are moved from exchanges to private wallets.

Additionally, such large numbers often raise questions about whether these whales know something insiders do. Or whether this is simply an ideal buying opportunity. As expected, it also sparks speculation about whether the price will see a reversal from press time levels or not. 

This accumulation trend can be further reinforced by the on-chain analytics tool CryptoQuant. At press time, it revealed a significant decline in Ethereum exchange reserves.

According to the exchange reserve sdata over the last 24 hours, 219,203 ETH flew out of exchanges – Another indication of whale accumulation.

Ethereum (ETH) price action and key levels to watch

At the time of writing, ETH’s price had jumped by 4.5% in 24 hours, with the altcoin trading at $2,108.

Despite the hike in price and potential whale accumulation, market participants remain hesitant to engage with the token though. This can be evidenced by the fact that trading volume declined by 35% to $34.35 billion.

On the daily charts, ETH has been attempting to reclaim its key support at $2,180, which it lost on 05 February 2026 amid a broader market decline. However, it is not yet confirmed whether ETH has successfully reclaimed this level or is merely retesting the previous breakdown zone.

If ETH’s upside continues and the price closes a daily candle above the $2,180-level, it could be a sign of a potential reversal, which may trigger a sharp price recovery.

On the other hand, if ETH fails to do so and faces strong rejection at this key level, a sharp decline could follow, with the price potentially reaching the next support near $1,550.

At press time, the Average Directional Index (ADX) — an indicator that measures trend strength — had reached 49, above the key threshold of 25. This implied that the crypto had strong momentum. Meanwhile, the Money Flow Index (MFI) rose to 33.24 from 11 – A sign of accelerating buying pressure after oversold conditions.

Traders’ sentiment turns bullish!

From a derivative perspective, it seemed that intraday traders were following the prevailing market trend too.

The ETH exchange liquidation map found that traders were overleveraged at $2,060.4 on the downside and $2,135.4 on the upside. At these levels, they built approximately $247.67 million worth of long-leveraged positions and $189.54 million worth of short-leveraged positions. 

Final Thoughts

• Ethereum exchange reserves declined by 219,203 ETH over the past 24 hours, indicating potential accumulation by whales and institutions.
• Price action suggested that a reversal may only be possible if ETH successfully reclaims the $2,180-level.