TLDR
- Ethereum dropped ~3%, trading around $2,280–$2,293
- Whales deposited over 63,000 ETH to Binance, raising selloff fears
- ETH whale holdings down 21.5% since October 2025 peak
- Open interest hit 14.85M ETH as short positions build rapidly
- Analyst Ted Pillows says weak spot demand is keeping ETH under pressure
Ethereum has slipped close to 3% in the past 24 hours, with the price sitting around $2,280 at the time of writing. The drop comes as several large holders move their coins to exchanges, a move often seen before a sell.
On-chain tracker Lookonchain flagged that a wallet linked to digital asset manager Metalpha deposited 27,000 ETH, worth around $62.78 million, to Binance. A separate whale wallet moved another 14,062 ETH, worth $32.82 million, to the same exchange on the same day.
Whales/Institutions are dumping $ETH!
Wallets linked to Metalpha deposited 27,000 $ETH($62.78M) into #Binance in the past hour.
Whale 0x8Ad4 deposited 14,062 $ETH($32.82M) into #Binance an hour ago.https://t.co/imWchYKdyMhttps://t.co/pwiAq47Asu pic.twitter.com/gWzMT1vgdA
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 7, 2026
These moves followed a 166,000 ETH deposit to Binance by Bitcoin OG Garrett Jin on Wednesday, worth roughly $396 million. That sequence of large transfers has added to concerns about further selling pressure.
Analyst Ali Martinez pointed to a longer-term shift in whale behavior. ETH wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 coins built up from 12.95 million ETH in April 2025 to a peak of 15.95 million by October 6, 2025. Since then, those holdings have fallen to around 12.52 million ETH — a drop of 21.5%.
Ethereum whales are doing something they haven't done in a year.
Since October 6, 2025, Ethereum whales holding 1,000 to 10,000 $ETH have undergone a significant regime change in their market behavior.
Before this shift, this cohort was in a steady accumulation regime. Their… https://t.co/5WAJSKsnl9 pic.twitter.com/qezrxfq6Re
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 7, 2026
Martinez said Ethereum may need a “fresh wave of institutional or retail demand” to reach the $3,000 level.
Short Sellers Take Over Futures
Derivatives data is painting a bearish picture. Open interest climbed to 14.85 million ETH — its highest since July last year — even as prices fell. That combination, paired with negative funding rates, points to a fast buildup of short positions.
The 30-day moving average of Ethereum’s Net Taker Volume is close to flipping negative, meaning short traders are starting to dominate futures activity. ETH also recorded $96.3 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with $89.1 million of that coming from long positions.
Analyst Ted Pillows weighed in on X, saying: “$ETH tried to hold above the $2,400 level again but failed. Spot demand is very weak, which is pushing Ethereum lower. Until that changes, ETH will continue to underperform the market.”
$ETH tried to hold above the $2,400 level again but failed.
Spot demand is very weak, which is pushing Ethereum lower.
Until that changes, ETH will continue to underperform the market. pic.twitter.com/AgG76lPjoP
— Ted (@TedPillows) May 7, 2026
Key Price Levels to Watch
On the chart, Ethereum is holding above the 50-day EMA at $2,262 but remains capped by the 100-day EMA at $2,349. The RSI is just below 50, and the Stochastic Oscillator is sliding toward 30.
If ETH breaks below $2,262, the next support sits at $2,211, then $2,107. To the upside, a move above $2,388 would be needed to target $2,746.
The $2,300–$2,500 range has acted as a distribution zone for the past month, with retail cohorts offloading roughly 1.5 million ETH over the past two weeks.
