Whales Drop $426M on Ethereum — Is a $4,000 Breakout Next?
Whales are placing massive bets on Ethereum, with roughly $426 million poured into leveraged long positions, suggesting strong confidence in a move toward the $4,000 range. With ETH holding above the key $3,000 psychological level and forming a clear ascending triangle pattern, large investors appear to believe that the worst may be over and a new uptrend is taking shape.
Price is currently hovering around $3,140, representing a solid 20 percent bounce from the $2,621 low recorded on November 21. This rebound has come at a time when markets are closely watching the Federal Reserve, with expectations growing around a potential 25 basis point rate cut. While uncertainty remains, major players have already positioned themselves.
On-chain data shows that three well-known traders opened a combined 136,433 ETH in long positions, valued near $426 million. One wallet held approximately $169 million in ETH longs, while another entered even more aggressively with about $194 million. A third added 20,000 ETH, worth roughly $62.5 million. Separately, another large wallet added further long exposure worth close to $190 million. At the same time, a corporate entity expanded its Ethereum holdings to millions of ETH, valued in the multi-billion-dollar range.
This wave of accumulation strengthens the view that the move above $3,000 was deliberate rather than random, indicating potential positioning for a broader trend reversal.
Large investors rarely trade based on emotion. Their timing tends to be driven by structure, liquidity, and macro conditions. There are three main factors behind these aggressive long positions. First, Ethereum defended the $3,000 support level, signaling that sellers failed to take control. Second, broader macro conditions appear to be shifting as markets price in looser monetary policy. Third, price action has formed a classic ascending triangle, a pattern that frequently precedes major upside continuation or a trend change. These market participants typically accumulate before a breakout, not after it.
Technical structure shows a clear ascending triangle with resistance near $3,250. The break above a multi-month downtrend line in early December added further weight to the bullish case. A clean move above $3,250 would activate the pattern and project a target near $4,020, representing close to 30 percent upside from current levels. Momentum indicators such as RSI have also recovered sharply, confirming improving strength.
The most important level for confirmation is a daily close above $3,250. That level unlocks the larger upside structure and opens the path toward higher resistance zones around $3,350, $3,550, and $3,800, where the 200-day moving average sits. A sustained move above $3,800 would make a return to the $4,000 region increasingly likely.
Despite the bullish setup, short-term resistance remains strong. The $3,350 to $3,550 area includes both the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, which historically have caused price to stall or consolidate. The 200-day moving average near $3,800 remains the final major barrier before a full breakout toward $4,000 and beyond.
The bullish thesis would start to weaken if Ethereum loses the $3,000 level on a daily closing basis. A breakdown below that support would suggest that large positions may have been early and the market requires more time to build structure. In that scenario, pullbacks toward $2,900 or even $2,750 would become more likely. However, as long as price holds above $3,000, the broader market structure remains constructive.
Ethereum is now sitting at a critical tipping point. Whale inflows are increasing, institutional exposure continues to grow, technical patterns favor expansion, and momentum indicators point to recovery. All eyes are now on one decisive level.
$3,250.
A breakout above it could open the door toward $4,020. Failure to do so likely keeps price trapped in consolidation.
Breaking news: Jerome Powell just hinted that the Fed may move back toward adding liquidity again, saying they’ll start increasing reserves at some point. It’s the clearest sign so far that another round of easing could be coming. If that happens, markets won’t sit still. Expect bigger swings and the possibility of a sharp move higher.
Bitcoin Crashes Into the 91K Max Pain Zone: What This Drop Really Means
Bitcoin has sliced through the 91,000 dollar max pain zone right after the latest options expiry, raising a big question for traders: what happens now?
This year has already been intense for Bitcoin. After touching a new high near 126,000 dollars in early October, the price reversed hard and dropped to about 80,500 dollars. That’s more than a 15 percent pullback from its yearly trend.
Even though the market feels heavy, fresh on-chain data shows the recent move isn’t random. It fits into a larger pattern shaped by how the derivatives market works.
A total of 3.4 billion dollars in Bitcoin options expired on December 5. Analysts often compare options expiry to gravity because it tends to pull the price toward the market’s max pain point. That’s the level where option buyers lose the most and sellers gain the most. For this cycle, that level was 91,000 dollars.
Bitcoin slipped right toward that zone and kept falling, hitting around 89,500 dollars. Long positions took the hit while market makers and option sellers came out ahead. Breaking below the max pain level suggests the market imbalance is still widening, and it lines up with other bearish signals on-chain.
Funding rates across major perpetual futures have now turned negative, sitting at about -0.001206. Negative funding usually means shorts are paying longs, selling pressure is stronger than buying interest, and traders are leaning toward a bearish outlook.
When you combine the huge options expiry, the drop below the 91,000 dollar level, and the negative funding rates, you get one clear picture: bearish pressure is stacking up, and the chances of more downside are rising.
Several signs point in the same direction. Bitcoin slipped to about 89,250 dollars at the time of writing. It’s down more than 3 percent in the past day, and volatility is still high. Together, these conditions suggest a market searching for its footing.
Short term, caution makes sense. The long-term trend for Bitcoin is still solid, but the near-term setup is shaky. Many traders are waiting for funding to normalize and for BTC to reclaim lost support before stepping back in.
For now, expect more volatility, potential deeper dips, and continued pressure from the derivatives side. The next big move will likely depend on whether buyers can take back the 91,000 dollar zone or if sellers drag the price into a new lower range.