The Ethereum price may have already wrapped up its correction. Following a difficult week across the crypto sector, ETH is maintaining a vital support area as large holders quietly accumulate coins and market sentiment begins to shift upward.
Trading near $2,230, ETH is essentially flat over the past week despite the wider market downturn. This resilient performance follows Thursday’s AI-driven panic, which saw Ethereum decline by over 7% in a single day.
Prominent crypto analyst Crypto Capo expresses confidence that the worst has passed. Sharing an update on X regarding ETH, Capo noted that the retracement has concluded. The analyst points out that this pullback began at the exact resistance level and finished at the same support level as a comparable move in 2025—forming a fractal that he anticipates will lead to a bullish continuation alongside the broader market.
On-chain metrics are beginning to support this perspective, with major players already positioning themselves accordingly.
Whales Are Buying The Ethereum Dip
Large investors have been actively accumulating ETH around current valuations. In a five-day span, a single whale utilizing two wallets withdrew 18,550 ETH, valued at over $42 million. Over the same timeframe, another large investor acquired approximately 13,080 ETH, worth about $30 million, from Binance. Additionally, a previously inactive wallet traded $19.7 million in USDT for ETH.
Institutional participants are also getting involved. Bitmine purchased an additional 5,000 ETH—valued at roughly $11.22 million—during the price drop, bringing its holdings to 4.96% of the entire Ethereum supply.
This timing is deliberate. The $2,200 threshold serves as the realized price for accumulation addresses, representing the average cost basis for wallets exclusively purchasing the asset. Whales appear committed to defending this price floor.
Ethereum Sentiment Is Recovering Fast
The overall outlook for ETH is improving as well. The Ethereum Fear & Greed Index registers at 45, placing it in Neutral territory.
This represents a dramatic recovery. One week ago, the index stood at 35, while a month prior it read 27—both firmly within the Fear category. Today’s figure also surpasses Bitcoin’s score of 39, indicating that sentiment surrounding ETH is rebounding more swiftly than for the market leader.
Whale activity registers as Neutral with a score of 59 on the index, whereas the social component has surged into Extreme Greed. Price, volume, and technical indicators remain in Fear, leaving space for those metrics to catch up if the Ethereum price continues its ascent.
Last Time Retail Gave Up, ETH Bottomed
Historical precedent offers further optimism. Data from Santiment in June 2026 indicated that retail crowds had essentially abandoned Ethereum. Social sentiment plunged into extreme fear, leading smaller wallets to liquidate their holdings.
Wallets containing under 0.01 ETH reduced their balances by 1,791 ETH over a two-day period, while those with less than 0.1 ETH disposed of 0.90% of their supply within a month. At that time, ETH traded near $1,630.
That capitulation signaled the turning point. ETH established its 2026 low around $1,567 on June 6, subsequently climbing more than 40% to reach current prices. This serves as a classic illustration of retail investors selling near the bottom while larger entities accumulate—a pattern currently repeating around the $2,200 mark.
Additional indicators are flashing similar signals, including an Ethereum metric that has consistently identified market bottoms without fail.
Ethereum Price Levels To Watch
The crucial threshold for bulls spans from $2,200 to $2,220. Maintaining values above this range positions the next upward target at $2,425. Surpassing that level would enable the Ethereum price to validate Capo’s projected bullish continuation.
Conversely, breaking below $2,200 would expose $2,000 followed by $1,900 as subsequent demand zones.
Certain risks remain present. Despite substantial spot buying, the whale-versus-retail position delta stays marginally negative, indicating that major traders still maintain an overall short bias. Market maker Wintermute recently initiated a $73 million short position on Hyperliquid, which includes $26.4 million in ETH.
However, select whales are already wagering in the opposite direction. A trader who established a long position at $2,221 following the latest pullback is currently sitting on an unrealized profit of roughly $252,000 and has successfully won their last 10 consecutive trades.
Institutional demand will also play a critical role. Spot Ethereum ETFs experienced robust inflow streaks in September, and a resurgence of those capital flows could provide ETH with the necessary momentum. For ongoing updates, follow the latest Ethereum news.
What do you think happens next?
Is the Ethereum retracement over and a bullish continuation about to begin, or does ETH need one more dip toward $2,000 before the next leg up?
Written by
Yuki Yamamoto
