Ethereum price drop forces whales to sell ETH in millions to repay debts

Ethereum (ETH) has experienced sharp declines in recent days, forcing some of the cryptocurrency’s largest holders to liquidate significant amounts of their holdings. According to market tracker LookonChain, the price of Ethereum has fallen by 18.35% from its Monday high of $4,109, forming a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily chart.

According to recent updates, ETH has lost more than 7% today alone, and this has prompted whale holders to let go of a huge chunk of their holdings to repay debts. At press time, the second largest crypto by market cap is trading at $3,390, with its 24 hour trading volume going up by 14%, signaling a heightened market activity.

Whales offload, buy millions in Ethereum holdings

LookonChain reported that a whale deposited 22,746 ETH, valued at $77.7 million, to Binance in the early hours of Friday to withdraw stablecoins and repay debts on decentralized finance platforms Spark and Aave. In total, this whale has moved 31,968 ETH, worth approximately $108.3 million at current valuations, to Binance over the past two days.

The recent price drop forced whales to sell $ETH to repay debts.

A whale deposited 22,746 $ETH($77.7M) to #Binance in the past 5 hours and withdrew stablecoins from #Binance to repay debts on #Spark and #Aave.

And this whale has deposited a total of 31,968 $ETH($122.3M) to… pic.twitter.com/vhw9J1KTkP

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 20, 2024

Another whale deposited an even larger amount of 49,910 ETH, worth $170 million, to Binance hours ago. This individual subsequently withdrew $137.8 million worth of stablecoins from the exchange, likely for debt repayment.

Within seven days leading up to December 18, Ethereum whales holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH collectively reduced their holdings from 13.47 million ETH to 13.41 million ETH. This sell-off represents 60,000 ETH offloaded, valued at more than $200 million. 

According to CoinGlass data, Ethereum liquidations have surpassed $190 million in the last 24 hours, with long and short trading positions standing at $165 million and $25 million, respectively. The coin’s Open Interest (OI) percentage has declined by 7.4%, following the current crypto market trend, which is trading in the red.

Despite this widespread selling activity, not all whales are taking bearish positions. World Liberty Finance, an entity reportedly associated with President-elect Donald Trump’s financial ventures, spent 2.5 million USDT to acquire 722 ETH on Thursday.

After the $ETH price drop, #Trump's World Liberty(@worldlibertyfi) spent 2.5M $USDT to buy 722 $ETH again 2 hours ago.https://t.co/AmeIF2plRb pic.twitter.com/UwI88MfoUK

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 20, 2024

Additionally, another prominent whale linked to Longling Capital has strategically purchased 6,000 ETH during the dip. Known for its precise market timing, this whale has reportedly accumulated profits of $83 million by capitalizing on Ethereum’s price fluctuations.

Ethereum faces resistance at $4,000

Ethereum’s recent struggles highlight the challenges it faces in breaking past the $4,000 mark. The level has acted as a strong weekly resistance throughout 2024, with the cryptocurrency facing its third rejection at this price point this year alone. 

Historically, the $4,000 resistance has been tested five times since 2021, but a sustained bullish breakout above this level remains elusive. Market data from CoinGlass shows that Ethereum futures open interest reached a record $28.70 billion on December 17, but has now dropped to $25 billion.

While futures traders predominantly held long positions throughout November, sentiment has shifted with the recent price downturn. 

For the first time since November 6, the aggregated premium of futures positions has turned bearish, indicating a rise in short positions relative to long positions. This shift has added downward pressure on ETH prices, pulling them below the $4,000 threshold once again.

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