Ethereum is staying in a range below $2,400, with large whales recently buying more than 140,000 ETH.

On May 5, blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan reported that the market appears quiet, but derivatives positions have entered a zone with heavy liquidation pressure on both sides.

CoinGlass data show about $874 million worth of long-position liquidations below $2,206 and about $403 million worth of short-position liquidations above $2,412. Total forced liquidations over the past 24 hours were about $33 million. Of that, short liquidations were $25.93 million, far above $7 million in long liquidations. That reflects stronger upward pressure in the short term.

On the supply-demand side, whale accumulation was confirmed. Santiment data show that large holders added more than 140,000 ETH from May 1 to 3. That is worth about $322 million. Whale balances rose from 13.83 million ETH to 13.98 million ETH over the period. Analyst Ali Martinez (알리 마르티네즈) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that whales accumulated about $322 million worth of Ethereum over the past 96 hours.

The buying range has also shifted higher. CryptoQuant said whale buying was concentrated in the $2,005 to $2,100 range in early April, but moved to the $2,250 to $2,300 area in late April. On May 2, the largest single spot purchase was 556 ETH at $2,316. It was notable that buying continued not only when prices were pressed down but also during the rise.

Institutional flows also improved. Farside Investors data show Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds turned to net inflows on May 1. After four consecutive trading days of outflows, total inflows reached $101.2 million that day. By product, BlackRock’s ETHA received $43.2 million and Fidelity’s FETH took in $49.4 million. Other issuers’ products showed mixed flows on relatively small amounts.

Still, the short-term resistance line remains clear. Order-book data show thick sell orders stacked in the $2,350 to $2,500 range, leaving $2,400 acting as resistance. Market analyst Ted Pillows (테드 필로우스) said Ethereum is still moving sideways until it regains $2,400.

The market is watching the ETH/BTC ratio as a more important signal than the dollar price. The ratio is currently around 0.0294. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe (미하엘 반 데 포페) pointed to 0.032 as a breakout level, saying a clear move above 0.032 BTC would mark the start of a full-fledged move. That suggests relative performance could remain weak if market leadership does not shift from bitcoin to Ethereum, even if whale buying rises in dollar terms.

What makes the current structure more unstable is that futures activity is much larger than spot. Open interest is about $30 billion, and 24-hour trading volume in Ethereum futures is about $18 billion, but spot trading volume is below $1 billion. As leverage builds faster than spot demand, volatility could rise once direction is set.

The market is therefore treating an upside break above $2,412 and a downside break below $2,206 as key turning points. If either level gives way first, a chain of liquidations could follow and amplify the move. For now, positioning structure rather than spot demand is expected to keep exerting stronger influence over Ethereum’s price.

Whales have gone on a buying spree, accumulating over 140,000 Ethereum $ETH in the last 96 hours, worth around $322 million. pic.twitter.com/uHZqV3B0W9