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Ethereum is struggling below $1,700 as the market faces a combination of apathy and uncertainty that has made sustained directional movement difficult to produce in either direction. The price is grinding — not breaking down aggressively but equally failing to generate the momentum needed to reclaim higher levels — and data from Arkham Intelligence has identified a cluster of large institutional withdrawals that adds a structural layer to the current setup worth examining carefully.
Three whale addresses — two of them freshly created wallets with no prior transaction history — have withdrawn a combined $122.29 million in Ethereum from FalconX and Kraken. The scale of the withdrawal is significant. The venue combination is notable. FalconX is a regulated institutional prime brokerage serving some of the most sophisticated participants in digital asset markets, while Kraken is one of the most established and most scrutinized exchanges in the ecosystem.
Ethereum Whale Transfers | Source: Arkham
The creation of fresh wallets for withdrawals of this scale is the behavioral detail that carries the most analytical weight. Institutional participants creating new addresses specifically for large withdrawals typically do so to maintain operational security, separate treasury positions from trading activity, or establish dedicated holding infrastructure for assets intended for long-term custody rather than near-term trading.
$122 million in Ethereum leaving institutional venues and moving into freshly created wallets during a period of market apathy does not describe participants preparing to sell. It describes participants who have made a decision about Ethereum at current prices — and have created the infrastructure to hold that decision for an extended period.
Down 9 Million and Still Withdrawing
The Arkham data adds a layer that transforms the withdrawal from a routine institutional movement into a statement about conviction under pressure. One of the addresses involved in the current withdrawal cluster previously purchased Ethereum and is currently sitting on an unrealized loss of approximately $9.1 million on that position. The market has moved against the trade — and the response is not to reduce exposure or exit at a smaller loss. The response is to withdraw more ETH from exchanges into custody.
Ethereum Whale position | Source: Arkham
Arkham has raised the question of whether the address is connected to Tom Lee — and the behavioral profile is consistent with what Bitmine has been executing publicly. The company has been systematically building toward a 5% Ethereum supply target, currently holding approximately $9.32 billion worth of ETH at 4.59% of circulating supply, with approximately $819.86 million in additional purchases still required to reach that threshold.
A participant sitting on a $9.1 million unrealized loss who responds by withdrawing more ETH from institutional venues rather than cutting the position is expressing the same long-term thesis that Bitmine’s entire treasury strategy represents. The loss is present and acknowledged. The direction of the next action is unchanged.
For Ethereum below $1,700 under market apathy, that behavioral pattern — institutional-scale participants absorbing unrealized losses and continuing to accumulate rather than capitulating — is the structural signal that the price chart is not yet reflecting but that the on-chain data is documenting in real time.
Ethereum Breaks Below February Support As Bears Extend Control
Ethereum remains under heavy selling pressure after decisively breaking below the February support zone near $1,800-$1,900, a level that had previously served as the foundation for multiple recovery attempts throughout 2026. The breakdown has fundamentally altered the market structure, with ETH now trading near $1,620 after briefly plunging toward the $1,500 region.
More importantly, the recent rebound has been weak and unable to reclaim any meaningful resistance, highlighting the absence of aggressive buyers despite growing institutional accumulation narratives.
Ethereum testing critical demand | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
From a technical perspective, the chart shows a clear sequence of lower highs and lower lows since the May peak around $2,400. The failure at that resistance zone marked the completion of a distribution range that ultimately resolved to the downside. Once ETH lost the $1,850 support area, selling accelerated sharply, producing a high-volume breakdown that pushed price well below all major moving averages.
The 50-day and 100-day moving averages continue trending lower above the current price, while the 200-day moving average near $2,450 remains far out of reach. This alignment confirms that momentum remains firmly bearish across all major timeframes.
The key level to watch is the recent low near $1,500. Bulls have managed to defend that area so far, but unless ETH can reclaim the former support zone around $1,850, the current bounce looks more like a relief rally inside a broader downtrend than the start of a sustainable recovery.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
