Ethereum Whales Go on Accumulation Spree as ETH Awaits Major Trigger

April ended as the second month in a row with gains for the second-largest cryptocurrency, which even tried another breakout over the past 12 hours before it was stopped at $2,350.

Whales have used this opportunity to accumulate more tokens, according to data provided by Ali Martinez, while other analysts believe there could be a more profound rally in the making.

Whales Are Buying

On-chain data shows that Ethereum whales had accumulated over 140,000 tokens in the past four days alone. The stash is worth more than $320 million at today’s prices. Such moves have a two-fold impact on the market as they reduce the immediate selling pressure and could also serve as an example for smaller investors.

Whales have gone on a buying spree, accumulating over 140,000 Ethereum $ETH in the last 96 hours, worth around $322 million. pic.twitter.com/uHZqV3B0W9

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 3, 2026

The whales’ behavior builds on the previous accumulation spree by ETF investors. As reported over the weekend, market participants gaining exposure to ETH through the exchange-traded funds snapped a multi-month red streak by pouring over $350 million.

At the same time, the underlying asset ended April with a notable 7.3% increase, following a 7% rise in March. Before that, ETH was in a six-month price decline streak that began in September 2025.

Waiting for a Trigger

As mentioned above, ETH tried to break out in the past 12 hours after Iran sent a new proposal to the US but was quickly halted as Trump said he couldn’t imagine it would be a good one.

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Popular analyst CW commented that high-leveraged ETH positions have increased only slightly, while shorts have declined. This small change hasn’t impacted the overall ‘ideal situation’ for the asset, but it still waits for a major trigger.

High-leveraged long positions on $ETH have increased slightly, while short positions have decreased slightly.

The change is very small. $ETH is moving sideway, but high-leveraged investors remain inactive.

The ideal situation is being maintained. $ETH is waiting for a trigger. https://t.co/6NZy5nUchL pic.twitter.com/t0A64Vw1dA

— CW (@CW8900) May 3, 2026

In a separate tweet, CW added that the Ethereum Open Interest is also showing an upward trend, which could be a healthier signal for a bigger move ahead.