Ethereum (ETH) switched its sentiment within the past day, as prices recovered above $1,900. Whales reacted immediately, with a mix of leveraged long positions and spot buying. Ethereum (ETH) saw an immediate shift in trader and buyer behavior after weeks of uncertainty. As prices recovered above $1,900, whales returned to buying on the spot market, while derivative traders committed to more substantial long positions. ETH is trying to break a six-month downtrend and resume with a more significant breakout to a higher price range. The immediate reaction of spot and derivative traders showed ETH is still attractive, especially if showing bullish momentum. Ethereum whales switch to spot accumulation In the past day, accumulation was noted from prominent funds, in addition to anonymous whale wallets. DeFi traders used their accumulated stablecoins, spending DAI and USDT to acquire ETH at $1,993.8. 2 wallets, likely from one entity, spent $14.54M $DAI and $USDT to buy 7,293.44 $ETH at a price of $1,993.8. Addresses: – 0xef9fc75f3eac4baf72e0de24c8677187523e85c6 – 0xdf72beb504df8612e7594a4878e23461c5fde34e Data @nansen_ai pic.twitter.com/sk070LKX5q — Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) May 8, 2025 In addition to the whales, Abraxas Capital extended its withdrawals, building up a reserve of ETH tokens. The latest withdrawal for Binance was for 2.3K ETH. The large-scale withdrawals and accumulation took around 50,000 ETH from exchanges in the past day. Holding ETH in private wallets happened after the Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which allows for easier staking of 2,048 ETH in one deposit. ETH exchange reserves remain low at around 8.4M tokens on spot exchanges, and around 10M ETH on derivative markets. Demand from ETF remains uncertain, with days of net inflows and outflows shifting direction without warning. ETH scarcity is not as pressing as that of BTC. The recent rounds of buying follow a capitulation even from some of the earliest ETH holders. Recently, an ICO buyer liquidated more than 7,200 ETH. However, in the past day, sentiment shifted to decisively bullish for smart money, expecting a breakout for ETH after weeks of trading at a lower range. Ethereum traders switch to long positions On derivative markets, ETH traders quickly accumulated larger open positions. Overall open interest on leading centralized markets jumped to over $11B within hours, from recent lows around $9B. ETH traders rebuilt long positions, with significant accumulation in the $1,700 range. | Source: Coinank The recent recovery of ETH above $1,900 allowed trades to open more long positions in the $1,700 range. Trader behavior shows bullish expectations, but may also lead to liquidations in the case of an unexpected market downturn. A risk-taking whale also returned to Hyperliquid. The whale deposited over $14.5M USDC to open a long position on ETH. In the past day, the position was in the green, accruing unrealized profits of $500K to over $600K at one point. The whale kept the position as ETH broke out to $2,001.05, breaking the price tier for the first time since March 10. ETH trading activity picked up during the early US trading hours, as BTC continued on its path to reclaim $100,000. The ETH rally follows the Pectra upgrade, which is expected to become a bullish factor and boost both usage and trading activity on Ethereum. Briefly after the Pectra upgrade, the Ethereum network turned deflationary, as more coins were burned for gas. Increased activity also pushed fees to $0.80, from recent lows of $0.01, with swap prices on DEX rising to over $13.