Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), fell to a yearly low of $1,927 on Thursday and is currently greater than 60% below its all-time high of $4,950.
Analysts said the decline was a stress test of holders' conviction, and data on inflows to on-chain and crypto exchanges suggested the beginning of a bear market. Despite the selling intensity, a gaggle of Ether holders have been buying, but whether this can help ETH reclaim $2,000 stays to be seen.
Key Takeaways:
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Medium-sized holders (100-10,000 ETH) reduced their holdings, signaling a capitulation phase.
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Large holders (over 10,000 ETH) increased their commitment within the last quarter, absorbing the selling pressure for the altcoin.
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ETH is trading below realized price for all investor cohorts, and rising forex inflows keep downside risk elevated.
On-chain data shows who’s holding, adding and surrendering
Over the last five months, Ether balance by holder value data showed a major change in behavior across different wallet sizes.
The metric highlights which investors are absorbing downward pressure and that are exiting when prices return to May 2025 levels.
Data from CryptoQuant shows that as of August 18, 2025, wallets with 100-1,000 ETH controlled 9.79 million ETH, 1,000-10,000 controlled 14.51 million ETH, 10,000-100,000 controlled 17.18 million ETH, and over 100,000 wallets controlled 2.75 million ETH.
Ether balance by holder value. Source: CryptoQuant
On Wednesday, the balances of the 100-1,000 and 1,000-10,000 cohorts fell to eight.32 million ETH and 12.26 million ETH, respectively.
In contrast, 10,000 to 100,000 wallets increased the holding to 19.77 million ETH, while over 100,000 wallets increased the holding to three.68 million ETH.
The data suggested accumulation by whales and huge corporations, while smaller and mid-sized holders look like investing in the present price weakness.
Ether also trades below each cohort's realized price, which reflects the typical cost basis at which each group last moved its ETH. Realized prices fluctuate between $2,120 for 100,000+ holders and $2,690 for 100-1,000 holders, with ETH briefly closing below the overall realized price of $2,630 on Saturday, a level linked to stress-related selling.
ETH realized price by balance sheet cohorts. Source: CryptoQuant
Exchange inflows and taker data proceed to place pressure on the ETH price
Ether exchange inflows on Binance rose to about 1.63 million ETH on Wednesday, the best every day value since 2022. Large inflows could reflect preparation for a sale or rebalancing, and a surge in inflows during a period of weak price motion heightens concerns.
Ether exchange inflow on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
Market execution data complements this picture. Crypto analyst PelinayPA noted that Ether’s Binance buy/sell ratio is “around 0.94,” below the neutral value of 1. Both the 30- and 50-day moving averages remain below 1, suggesting that selling pressure is the prevailing trend and never a passing phase.
PelinayPA added that this may be the beginning of a “real bear season” for the altcoin and expects difficult price conditions to proceed for some time.”
Buy-sell ratio of Ether takers on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
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