[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee (이윤서)] One early Ethereum (ETH) investor has sold $136 million worth of ETH over the past week.

On June 1 (local time), Cointelegraph reported that the investor sold 55,000 ETH and 9,442 ETH in separate transactions. The average sale price was $2,041 per ETH.

The selling came as Ethereum slipped toward the $2,000 level, increasing market caution. Some analysis also says on-chain indicators make it hard to view this as a broad exit by long-term holders.

Lookonchain data showed the investor owns an old wallet address that has held tokens since the early days of the Ethereum network. But Glassnode's HODL Waves supply distribution showed the recent supply shift was closer to short-term holders than long-term holders.

The supply share held for 3 to 6 months fell to 9 percent recently from 13.5 percent on May 19. The 1 week to 1 month cohort also declined to 2.6 percent from 4.76 percent over the same period. By contrast, the 5 year to 7 year cohort edged up to 9 percent from 8.59 percent. That suggests recent turnover has been led by short-term holdings, while older supply has largely remained in place.

Activation of supply that had not moved for 5 to 7 years was also limited compared with past bottom phases. Movement in those holdings has increased somewhat in recent weeks, but activity remained low versus 2022, when Ethereum fell below $1,000. That has led to the view that it is hard to say early Ethereum investors are leaving the market en masse based only on some large investors' sale disclosures.

Price action remains shaky. Ethereum has swung around the psychological support level of $2,000 since late last week. Ethereum is now at $1,980, down about 1 percent over 24 hours and about 4.7 percent on the week.

The market has also continued to warn of the risk of further declines. Analyst Alex Marzel said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, "This movement doesn't look good for Ethereum." He pointed to around $1,800 as a key support level and said a bigger correction could follow if that level breaks.

Another analyst, Merlin the Trader, assessed that Ethereum's price action fits the Wyckoff accumulation structure exactly. He described the current range as a sideways B phase after the peak of selling pressure and said the next phase could test a bottom below $1,500.

Echo Analysis also pointed to the possibility of a fall to the $1,500 support level based on a bearish flag breakdown pattern. It also cited rising supply on exchanges and slowing demand for spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) as factors increasing the risk of further declines in Ethereum.

The move shows it is hard to conclude that long-term holders as a whole are exiting based only on selling by a large wallet. On-chain data suggested recent supply movement has been driven more by short-term holders. It means investors need to look at supply distribution by holding period even in a weak price phase to read market moves more accurately. The market is expected to watch whether Ethereum can recover the $2,000 level, as well as whether demand zones at $1,800 and $1,500 to $1,700 hold in the near term.

Ethereum OG is dumping $ETH! Over the past week, an Ethereum OG sold 55,000 $ETH($112.25M) and 9,442 $wstETH($24M) at an average price of $2,041 per ETH .https://t.co/Ovxm7c6zSLhttps://t.co/H9d9phx2w5 pic.twitter.com/pxWDvD5njD