Ethereum
Will Ethereum continue to see green as autonomy increases and whales sell off?
- Many Ethereum addresses have withdrawn their holdings on a considerable scale
- Overall interest in new addresses in ETH has decreased
Ethereum [ETH] saw a major price correction on the charts, despite the anticipation associated with spot ETH ETFs and their imminent launch.
Ethereum self-custody on the rise
In fact, Santiment data revealed a shift in Ethereum’s holding distribution. There is a trend of users moving their ETH away from exchanges.
On the one hand, the top 100 exchange wallets recently fell below their all-time low from May 2018. They now hold just 8.41 million ETH – implying a decline in Ethereum concentration on the stock exchanges.
On the other hand, the top 100 non-swap wallets were at an all-time high of 68.39 million ETH, signifying an increase in self-custody. This means that more and more users are now taking control of their own holdings by storing them in wallets that they directly control, rather than keeping them on exchanges.
If this trend continues, it could support Ethereum’s decentralization claim. A more distributed network, less dependent on centralized exchanges, aligns with the fundamental principles of blockchain technology.
However, decreased liquidity on exchanges, caused by a decline in ETH holdings, could lead to greater volatility in Ethereum prices. With fewer coins available to buy and sell, price fluctuations could become greater in response to market changes.
Source: Santiment
While greater self-custody can be seen as a positive development, there are also other concerning factors for ETH. For example, some large addresses have sold a significant portion of their assets, without accumulating them.
This could negatively impact the price of ETH in the future.
It is worth noting, however, that retail investors continue to show interest in ETH, despite the price decline.
Source: Santiment
Retail interest wanes
And yet, even though retail investors have shown interest in ETH, it has not been significant enough to move the price of ETH. Additionally, the growth of the ETH network has also declined over the past month.
This means that the number of new addresses showing interest in ETH has decreased. Declining network growth also means that ETH accumulation was carried out by pre-existing holders.
Read Ethereum [ETH] Price prediction 2024-25
Additionally, the speed at which ETH was trading has also decreased over the past few days. Simply put, this implies that the frequency with which ETH is traded has decreased significantly.
Source: Santiment