Ether is falling: what happens when whales and hamsters choose different paths

When ETH broke $2,000, retail investors (hamsters) panicked and hit the “sell” button, while big players (whales) did the opposite. This is a classic market story: those who panic first lose. What does the hamster look like on the chart right now? How poorly informed investors are selling at the worst moment.

The current price of Ethereum is $1.92K, down 3.13% in the last 24 hours, but looking deeper into the blockchain, the picture is completely different.

Whales are operating in a falling market: why are they buying now?

In the past 48 hours, large holders have withdrawn over $400 million worth of ETH from centralized exchanges. This is not a random move — it’s a strategy. When coins are transferred to cold wallets (personal storage), it’s a signal: big capital is preparing for long-term holding and expects a supply shortage in the future.

The same price that causes panic among hamsters becomes a historic opportunity for whales. They see staking data, monitor coin flows between exchanges, and know that most retail investors are simply not ready to endure such fluctuations.

Liquidating weak positions: when the hamster becomes a market victim

Breaking below the psychological level of $2,000 triggered a series of automatic liquidations of long positions worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Those who entered with excessive leverage and didn’t set stop-losses were simply forced out of the market.

The market carried out a harsh “cleansing” — this is what’s called filtering out unstable players. Hamsters trading on margin and believing in “eternal growth” are now out of the game. Meanwhile, whales patiently accumulated liquid positions, knowing that the turbulence is temporary.

Staking will lock up most of the supply

Over 30% of all Ethereum is now staked — meaning more than a third of the coins are simply unavailable for immediate sale. This creates a “compression effect” in the market: free supply is squeezed, and any sharp increase in demand could lead to explosive price growth.

Hamsters are selling, whales are buying, and most coins are locked for the long term. The combination of these three factors creates ideal conditions for a rebound. Whales understand this. Hamsters do not.

Technical analysis: key levels and target points

The critical support zone is between $1,920 and $1,950. If the daily candle closes above $2,050, it will be a signal that the breakout was false and the market is ready to move higher toward $2,240.

Recovery target levels:

• First target: $2,120
• Second target: $2,350

Position protection: strict stop-loss below $1,880.

While the hamster watches the red 3.13% and makes a panicked decision, the whale calmly opens a position in a cold wallet. History repeats itself because market participant behavior doesn’t change.