After holding below $2k for three days, Ethereum [ETH] finally reclaimed this key level and touched a high of $2092. At press time, ETH traded at $2059 after a slight 0.46% rise on the daily charts, reflecting heightened volatility. 

With ETH barely holding above $2k, whales are turning bearish and aggressively shorting the market.

Ethereum whales are shorting despite liquidation risks

After ETH reclaimed $2k, a significant amount of shorts were liquidated. CoinGlass data showed that over $38 million in shorts were liquidated, compared to $31 million in longs. Despite the rising short liquidation rate over the past 24 hours, some whales have continued to short the market. 

According to Onchain Lens, a whale deposited $4.89 million into HyperLiquid and opened an ETH short position with 20x leverage. The whale opened its position at 9,887 ETH, worth $20 million. Often, when whales open short positions, it suggests they are bearish and expect the market to drop again. 

Are whales and retail no longer connected?

Interestingly, although whales are shorting, their participation in the Futures market is minimal. In fact, CryptoQuant’s Futures Average Order Size data showed increased, sustained retail orders. 

Retail traders have piled in around $2.04k and $1.9k, a trend that has persisted through March, effectively displacing whales.

Interestingly, their participation over the past three days has largely been on the buy side, with Derivatives Taker Buy Sell remaining positive. A positive value here suggested that retailers have been aggressively taking positions. 

Meanwhile, the altcoin’s Long Short Ratio rose above 1.008, at press time, averaging 1.7 across Binance and OKX. When the ratio is above 1, it implies that most market participants have been taking long positions. 

This reflects the disconnection between retail traders and whale sentiment in the Futures market. 

What’s next for ETH?

Ethereum experienced relief and reclaimed $2k, as short traders rushed to cover their positions. At the same time, demand for longs accelerated among small-scale traders.

However, short covering was inadequate to lift ETH to make meaningful gains. As a result, the momentum remained bearish, turning the bounce short-lived.

Looking at the MACD, the momentum indicator remained negative, and was spotted at -19 as of writing. A negative MACD suggested that downside pressure has significantly outpaced any upside pressure.

In fact, the Upside Downside Volatility (UDV) further validated this trend, with Upside Volatility around 2.07 and downside above it at 2.9. This indicates sellers are more aggressive and down moves are stronger than up moves.

Such market conditions signal the likelihood of another market slide. If the overall bearish sentiment continues to dominate, ETH could slide below $2k again, with $1.9k as immediate support.

However, if capital flows into the derivatives boost market demand, the altcoin could hold $2k, and eye $2225.

Final Summary

• Ethereum whale deposited $4.89 million on Hyperliquid and opened a 20x leverage short position on 9,887 ETH, worth $20 million. 
• ETH reclaimed $2k as traders rushed to cover their shorts, although upside momentum remained minimal. 

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Author: Gladys Makena