Whale activity is increasingly concentrating on ETH and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Large coin movements indicate a shift towards staking rather than profit realization. Analysts are closely monitoring these changes as they could significantly impact ETH prices.
Rising interest in ETH and DeFi projects
Recent whale transfers suggest a new trend involving ETH and major DeFi projects. The potential launch of an Ethereum ETF within days is expected to boost ETH prices, potentially driving them back to the $4,000 level. ETH has gained attention as a significant holding in large-scale treasuries from older ICO projects.
Analysts are investigating the purpose of moving ETH from these treasuries, with possibilities including selling or staking through third parties. Over the past three months, the spot market has had notable ETH whale activity. Whale behavior is under intense scrutiny as ETH is anticipated to make a significant price move.
Whales testing new staking methods
A recent significant whale event involved a large wallet withdrawing funds from exchanges and locking a substantial portion of tokens for staking. The Ethereum staking contract balance now exceeds 47.5M ETH. Staking through specific entities is a secure way to hold tokens while receiving liquid staking tokens for trading.
Binance is being used for staking to produce Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH). WBETH is now part of the EigenLayer ecosystem and is gaining attention from traders. This explains the deposits to Binance to acquire a more secure type of staking token. Binance also offers 2.85% APY for staked ETH.
WBETH is linked to a popular Telegram group for crypto tokens and is known for providing arbitrage opportunities. Currently, WBETH trades at $3,204, surpassing the recent spot ETH price of $3,069.56. This price action may be driving additional deposits to Binance’s staking program.
The presence and potential of WBETH may explain the behavior of ICOs like Golem, which indicated their goal was staking. Over 1M WBETH has been created based on Binance deposits. Additionally, Golem has turned to direct staking from its ICO wallet.
Big buyers turning to the Ethereum ecosystem
On-chain data reveals that whales are also showing interest in Ethereum ecosystem tokens. In 2024, DEX trading saw a revival, though it did not match the hype of 2021. Despite this, leading projects like Uniswap have shown growth in fees and usage.
Interest in DeFi tokens is growing, with some projects reporting higher quarterly revenues. MakerDAO, for example, recorded peak quarterly revenues of $85M. DeFi apps are adopting the “fat app” trend, potentially sharing earnings through token burns.
Ethereum-based tokens remain the most rewarding for large liquidity providers. Recent accumulation of tokens like UNI may signal bullish expectations for growth in Ethereum-based trading and lending. In the past week, Ethereum DeFi has seen an increase in total value locked, rising from $51B to $54B. Ethereum leads in Q1 fees, with $1B in total fees.
Additionally, LidoDAO remains the top producer of staking fees, generating more than $90M monthly. In the short term, Ethereum is occasionally surpassed by TRON or Bitcoin weekly or monthly. However, in terms of baseline high-level activity and predictable fees, Ethereum remains the leader.