Ethereum’s market is on edge as massive whale activity and sudden liquidations create chaos and uncertainty for traders. According to Onchain Lens, one whale deposited 2,074 ETH, worth about $8.97 million, into Kraken, making a profit of $6.07 million. This particular whale had gathered a total of 3,289 ETH between September 2021 and December 2024 for $6.43 million.
In another twist, Onchain Lens revealed that a whale with a hefty 15x ETH long position closed out with a $35.39 million loss. This whale continued with a pivot to a 25x leveraged Bitcoin short position, valued at $122.6 million.
Moreover, the Onchain tracker EmberCN had earlier reported an Ethereum whale, which had been quiet for a while moved 150,000 ETH to a staking address. According to EmberCN, three wallets from the ICO era transferred a total of $646 million in ETH, marking their first activity since February 2022.
通过以太坊 ICO 获得 100 万枚 ETH 的远古巨鲸/机构，在休眠了 4 年之久后，今天醒来把 15 万枚 ETH ($6.46 亿) 存进了以太坊质押。
◎他们最初是通过 3 个地址在 2015 年以太坊 ICO 获得了 100 万枚的 ETH，最近一次的操作已经是 4 年前 (2021/7)：把 5.5 万枚 ETH 转进了 Gemini，当时 ETH 价格为… pic.twitter.com/y7MOe69Lt7
— 余烬 (@EmberCN) September 5, 2025
These transactions are part of a larger trend of ICO whales making a comeback. Just last month, one whale sent $19 million in ETH to Kraken, while another moved 2,300 ETH to the exchange.
Traders Face Heavy Liquidations
Coinglass data shows Ethereum’s total open positions at $9.04 billion, with short positions slightly dominating at 52.86%, totaling $4.78 billion. Long positions make up 47.14%, valued at $4.26 billion.
Margins are still balanced, with a $1 billion total margin split between longs at $473.25 million and shorts at $527.97 million. Losses are severe, reaching $237.29 million, with short positions down $215.31 million and longs down $21.99 million.
Ethereum Sentiment on Exchanges, Source: Coinglass
Funding fees highlight demand for shorts. Long traders paid $39.46 million, while shorts earned $138.86 million, showing stronger pressure from bearish bets.
High Volatility Despite Bullish Ratios
Even with bearish positions, sentiment on exchanges is bullish. According to the platform data, ETH/USDT long-to-short ratio on Binance is at 2.48, and among the top traders, it climbs to 3.07. OKX is showing a similar level of optimism with a ratio of 2.3.
That said, over the last day, with $23.98 million coming from the long liquidations and $8.88 million from the shorts, approximately $32.86 million in liquidations were recorded amid high volatility.
Most of these $20.59 million liquidations occurred within the span of approximately four hours, punishing the long traders the most.
Ethereum’s market is volatile at the moment. Big whale moves, heavy betting with leverage, and sudden liquidations are creating wild swings, bringing chances to profit but also big risks.
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