Whales keep buying the dip, but ether shows deeper capitulation

Ether’s holder base is splitting, however. Wallets holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH have risen from about 14 million ETH in mid-2025 to record highs near 19.6 million now.

The 100,000-plus cohort fell to roughly 2.6 million ETH in mid-2025 before climbing to about 4.6 million by May 2026, an addition CryptoQuant put at roughly 1.8 million. The 1,000 to 10,000 cohort has gone the other way, peaking near 15.6 million ETH in January 2026 and falling to about 12.9 million since.

Bitcoin whales, excluding exchange and mining-pool addresses, bottomed near 2.87 million BTC in December 2025 and hold about 3.06 million now, buying hardest as price fell below $60,000 in June. That remains roughly 170,000 BTC below the 2025 bull-cycle peak near 3.23 million.

CryptoQuant calls this the last stage of the decline while stating plainly that valuation leaves room for one more leg lower before a floor is confirmed.

Ether below cost basis is the thing to watch. It is the only one of the three where the market has already capitulated on paper, and CryptoQuant noted ETH bottomed in early 2025 at a similar level and a similar distance from its lower band.