Ethereum faces some rough times ahead as big holders keep selling when the price goes up. Even with the Federal Reserve starting rate cuts again, whale sales, a gloomy view from Citigroup, and money leaving spot Ethereum ETFs point to big challenges in reaching $5,000.
On September 18, CryptoQuant reported that unrealized profits for whales with 10,000 to 100,000 ETH hit levels seen at the 2021 market top.
This often leads to profit taking and more selling. Long term holders have been reducing their stacks for months now, which could add pressure without causing a sudden drop, but it is worth watching based on past patterns.
Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $1.89 million in net outflows on Wednesday, even after the 25 basis point Fed cut. Fidelity’s fund lost $29.19 million, and Bitwise’s shed $9.7 million, according to Farside Investors. A whale just sent all 5,000 ETH, worth $22.84 million, to Binance, pocketing $5.08 million in gains, as noted by Onchain Lens.
Citigroup stays bearish, forecasting ETH at $4,300 by year end, with a worst case of $2,200 due to macro factors that only mildly helped the recent push past $4,500. Analyst Ted Pillows says ETH is stuck below $4,700 and might correct to $4,000 if it fails to break out.
Ali Martinez spots a sell signal from the TD Sequential indicator, eyeing a dip back to $4,570.ETH climbed 2% in the last day, trading around $4,600, with a low of $4,429 and high of $4,643. Volume increased 28%.
Also read: REX-Osprey Debuts First U.S. Spot ETFs Offering Exposure To XRP, Dogecoin
