Ethereum price rally beyond $3,000 depends on two catalysts

• Ethereum whales are accumulating large volumes of ETH after supply on exchanges hit a six-month peak.
• ETH price sustained its uptrend even as Ether holders consistently realized gains since February 15.
• $20.48 million in short positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours as ETH price climbed to a new 2024 high.

Ethereum’s large wallet investors, including a wallet address that allegedly belongs to Justin Sun of TRON, have been spotted accumulating the altcoin, according to on-chain data. The accumulation by whales could offset the altcoin’s Supply on Exchanges, thereby reducing the selling pressure on ETH. 

Typically, Ethereum price rallies post a Bitcoin halving event, the upcoming halving in April 2024 could catalyze gains in ETH if the trend repeats itself. 

Also read: Ethereum price teases with a breakout, eyes $3,200 milestone as ETH bulls show resolve

Ethereum price could sustain uptrend with whales’ massive ETH accumulation

Data from on-chain intelligence tracker Lookonchain revealed that wallet that allegedly belongs to TRON co-founder Justin Sun scooped up 12,702 ETH worth $36.9 million on February 21. Between February 11 and 21, the address bought 104,055 Ether worth $296 million at an average price of $2,846 from Binance and decentralized exchanges. 

Wallet that allegedly belongs to Justin Sun, Ethereum accumulation. Source: Etherscan 

The tracker identified addresses that are accumulating Ether in the past week. A whale wallet withdrew 14,632 ETH tokens from Binance, worth $45.5 million and staked it in the past week. Two other large wallet addresses withdrew 6,000 Ether from Kraken, worth $18.7 million, in the past two days. 

While Santiment shows that ETH Supply on Exchanges has hit its highest level in six months, the recent activities of whale wallets could reduce the selling pressure on the asset. 

Ethereum Supply on Exchanges. Source: Santiment 

Ethereum wallet addresses holding between 100,000 and 1,000,000 ETH tokens have accumulated more Ether since the beginning of February. Wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH and 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 ETH have shed their Ether, reducing their Ethereum holdings in the same timeframe. 

Key catalysts

The accumulation of ETH wallets holding between 100,000 and 1 million Ether coincides with Ethereum price rise, as observed in the chart below, in the past six months. This suggests it could be a key catalyst to the token’s gains. If this trend continues, Ethereum price could continue rallying past the $3,000 mark. 

Ethereum holdings of different whale cohorts. Source: Santiment 

Another key catalyst is the upcoming Bitcoin halving. As seen in previous halving events, Ethereum price rallies in response to the mining reward halving of the largest asset. This is a trend that has repeated in the previous three halvings. If it continues, Ethereum price could rally towards its $4,000 target, ahead of the SEC’s decision on Spot Ethereum ETF approval in May 2024. 

It's important to note that in the past 24 hours, $20.48 million in short positions were liquidated as Ethereum price surged to a new peak in 2024, according to CoinGlass data. ETH price climbed to a high of $3,135.65 on Monday. 

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