Mysterious Ethereum Whale Moves Spark Speculation: Is a $5,000 Surge Imminent Despite Market Shadows?

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In recent developments, Ethereum whales have acquired more than $1 billion worth of Ether (ETH) over the past two weeks, raising speculation about a potential price surge to $5,000. Large Ether addresses, specifically those holding between 1,000 to 10,000 ETH, have collectively accumulated 330,000 ETH, valued at approximately $1.08 billion since January 7. This level of accumulation is reminiscent of a similar event in April 2024, which subsequently led to a 66% upswing in ETH prices.

Despite this activity, Ethereum remains the only cryptocurrency among the top 10 by market capitalization to report a negative return over the past month. Nonetheless, on-chain data indicates a potential shift, with an increase in daily active addresses and a network growth reaching 180,000, suggesting inbound fresh capital.


However, an analysis by the on-chain analyst Percival from CryptoQuant highlights a stark contrast in Ether’s spot market transactions over recent years. Transaction volumes plummeted from $52 billion in January 2021 to $8 billion in 2025, marking an 84% drop and illustrating a waning retail interest during this bull cycle, despite significant whale activity.

Analyzing market trends, traders are observing potential bullish setups, including the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern and ascending triangles on the weekly chart. These patterns could signal an optimistic price discovery phase for Ether. One derivative trader, Alec, foresees a larger movement looming for ETH, contingent upon market dynamics and liquidity conditions.

Despite these optimistic signals, the immediate technical challenge for Ethereum remains overcoming its resistance level at $4,100, which it has yet to breach. A breakthrough here could pave the way toward the ambitious $5,000 target, but until then, Ethereum must navigate through prevailing bearish pressures.