Ethereum seems to be heading into a fresh phase of accumulation, indicated by the high-profile transactions and on-chain metrics that now seem to be pointing toward something different — growing long-term conviction among investors.
In the past few days, we have seen a consistent outflow of Ether from centralized exchanges, and that is reinforcing the bullish narrative. It seems that more and more, investors are choosing to store their assets off exchanges. Not only is this a typical sign of reduced short-term selling pressure, but it also seems to indicate increased confidence among investors in Ethereum’s long-term prospects.
Net outflows from centralized platforms over the past week alone have totaled nearly $380 million worth of ETH. This sizable move adds more fuel to the fire of our ongoing accumulation trend, one whose early stages resemble a bullish cycle. In historical terms, when we see large outflows from exchanges, it typically means price increases are on the way. The most likely reason for this is that holders are moving their assets either to cold storage or to staking contracts, which means they’re not planning to sell anytime soon.
Ether keeps flowing out of centralized exchanges.
In the last seven days alone, net outflows have topped roughly $380 million worth of ETH, adding weight to the ongoing accumulation trend pic.twitter.com/bpTmTNvSFa
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) May 2, 2025
Whales Step In as DeFi Bridges Capital for ETH Buys
Several prominent whale deals have emerged that reveal just how much Ethereum is being bought up by the wealthy and, in some cases, even the super-wealthy (thanks to recent drops in the NFT markets, we’re looking at at least one DeFi platform in the very near future that will make none of us wealthy). On-chain monitoring service Lookonchain recently let the world know about a handful of big ETH buys that they figure involve some sort of leverage.
In one such deal, an address known as 0xDdb4 took out a loan for 3.44 million USDC from Aave and right away used the immediately available cash to purchase 1,856 ETH. This is aggressive buying and shows that the investor has strong conviction in ETH’s near- to mid-term potential; otherwise, why not go for something safer when deploying from a leveraged position? The 0xDdb4 address didn’t just do leveraged buying—it did so with a large amount of ETH.
Whales have been buying $ETH in the past 2 hours!
0xDdb4 borrowed 3.44M $USDC from Aave, then spent 3.44M $USDC to buy 1,856 $ETH.
0xf84d borrowed 1.64M $USDC from Aave, then spent 2.34M $USDC to buy 1,259 $ETH.
A newly created wallet(0x69D0) withdrew 2,250 $ETH($4.12M) from… pic.twitter.com/r3kvW8N32i
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 1, 2025
Similarly, wallet 0xf84d borrowed 1.64 million USDC but spent 2.34 million USDC to acquire 1,259 ETH — which means the investor either added their own capital to the borrowed funds or went for several rounds of borrowing. More than a hunch, these back-to-back, big-money buys signal something else: the sophisticated investors behind these wallets are positioning for an imminent upwards move in the value of ETH.
On-chain drama in the crypto world intensified on December 13 as a wallet labeled 0x69D0 emerged to withdraw 2,250 ETH from the Binance exchange. That single transaction saw the new wallet take possession of a sum worth approximately $4.12 million at the time of withdrawal. It’s unusual for a freshly created wallet to handle such a large sum, and the large withdrawal serves to heighten the mystery of where all that Ethereum is actually going.
A transaction of this sort, especially when coming from a wallet just set up for the occasion, could naturally invite speculation.
On May 1, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $422 million, with BlackRock’s IBIT leading the day with $351 million in net inflows. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw a total net inflow of $6.4932 million, with only Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) experiencing a net…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 2, 2025
Spot Ethereum ETFs Begin to Attract Capital
From an institutional perspective, Ethereum is making strides in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) arena. The latest data from May 1 shows that spot Ethereum ETFs have seen a total net inflow of $6.4932 million, indicating a swell of interest from traditional investors who want ETH exposure without the fuss of directly holding the asset.
While the amount is slight when contrasted with the influx into Bitcoin ETFs, it nonetheless establishes Ethereum as a more favored target for institutional investment than it was just a couple of years ago. Inflows into the Grayscale Ethereum Trust on the same day, by contrast, looked rather unimpressive, with the slow-moving vehicle essentially suffering from a lack of confidence. The fund’s discount to NAV and its not-so-young structure seemed to have more to do with the trust’s woeful approximation of a true investment vehicle for ETH than any sort of serious doubts about ETH itself.
Spot ETFs provide a gateway into the world of cryptocurrencies that is regulated and safe. This is something we have not had up till now. And in the United States, the regulatory environment is everything but safe and certain for hedge funds, pension plans, and other large institutional investors looking to open up shop in the world of cryptocurrencies.
These three types of investors—the traditional financial world in which we all live—are the ones for whom this adoption metric really matters.
Conclusion: Strength Behind the Scenes
Although Ethereum’s price action remains bound to shakeouts from the broader crypto market or regulatory run-ins, the signals coming from the on-chain data and institutional inflows are putting together a pretty clear bull case. From whales deploying millions in leveraged buys to on-ramping by ETFs to consistent outflows from exchanges, there’s a pattern of accumulation underway.
Should these trends continue, not only might Ethereum put in a strong performance in the months ahead, it might do so on a basis that is not merely speculative. The retail and institutional players in this market might be making and might be about to make, in numbers that are way more than just a couple of punchlines in a Twitter thread, the kind of informed bets that suggest real and not just apparent moves in the market.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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