Old Ethereum addresses are showing the fastest pace of distribution since 2021. The market has to absorb around 45K ETH daily from early investors.
Old Ethereum wallets are entering an accelerating distribution phase, with selling returning to levels not seen since 2021. While there are also signs of storing and staking ETH in accumulation addresses, vaults, and smart contracts, older whales are causing peak turnover.
Following the latest wave of selling, ETH dipped to $3,152.17, on a mix of worsening sentiment and long liquidations. ETH open interest sank to $17B after the latest round of liquidations.
Based on Glassnode data, a significant part of the selling originated from wallets aged 3-10 years. Those sellers are realizing profits to avoid getting caught in another bear market.
Ethereum proponents still see it as a long-term bet, but whales are less willing to hold through another bear market. Distribution started in August, but accelerated in the past month, driven by worsening sentiment and the record liquidation event on October 11.
Ethereum still carries high unrealized gains
The strategic trading of Ethereum whales means the token currently carries more opportunities to realize profits. The ratio of market value to realized value (MVRV) points to an accumulation of wallets with significant unrealized gains. Negative MVRV is a sign of market capitulation, which ETH has not reached even during previous sell-offs. Historically, ETH spends months with negative MVRV, especially during prolonged bear markets.
The MVRV ratio is at its highest level for 2025, at 2.1 points, potentially causing selling pressure if some of the whales decide to improve their average price. ETH remains actively traded, with some of the supply still used for short-term swapping.
ETH still carries significant unrealized value, based on the MVRV ratio. Whales are active on realizing profits, but also on the buying side during market dips. | Source: TradingView.
Ethereum also showed weakness as there are no expectations for an altcoin season. The token may see more active trading as funds change hands. Currently, Ether sentiment is at yearly lows. The ETH fear and greed index is at 29 points, indicating a fearful trading sentiment.
Seven Siblings wallets buy the dip
ETH has seen ongoing whale activity during market dips. In the past week, significant whales expanded their positions, also including borrowed funds from Aave.
One of the Seven Siblings wallets accumulated Ether from Uniswap in the past 24 hours, now holding over $260M in various forms of wrapped ETH.
The other wallet used Cow Protocol for multiple Ethereum purchases, now holding over $322M in various wrapped ETH tokens and other assets. The Seven Siblings wallets absorbed 1.2M Ether during the recent crash, becoming one of the biggest net buyers. This time, the whales aggressively leveraged their ETH purchases, borrowing $10M on Spark Protocol, signaling confidence in eventual market recovery.
Historically, the involvement of the Seven Siblings connected wallets signals a local bottom for the market. Other whales also bought the dip, absorbing 2.53M coins at $3,150 per Ether, establishing a new zone of support.
A wallet linked to BitMine also showed buying activity, while another high-profile whale added 16,937 ETH, close to the weekly production of new tokens.
