Ethereum whale wallets now collectively hold the largest portion of Ether in the asset’s history, accounting for 57% of all ETH in circulation. According to data from on-chain analytics platform Santiment, 104 wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH each control roughly $333 billion worth of the cryptocurrency.
In a December 16 update, Santiment revealed that while whale holdings are at historic highs, smaller wallet categories are showing notable declines. Addresses with holdings between 10 and 100,000 ETH now account for just 33.5% of the supply, a record low, while wallets with less than 100 ETH hold only 9.19% — the lowest level in nearly four years.
This trend is being interpreted as a bullish signal for Ethereum in the long term. “It is still generally a bullish long-term signal when a coin’s most prominent key stakeholders continue accumulating,” Santiment noted.
New Ethereum Addresses Hit 8-Month High
The surge in whale accumulation coincides with renewed on-chain activity on the Ethereum network. Santiment reported that the daily average of new Ethereum wallet addresses reached 130,200 in December, marking an eight-month high. This uptick suggests growing user interest, potentially fueled by bullish market sentiment and increasing adoption of Ethereum-based DeFi and staking protocols.
Ether’s price momentum reflects this trend, with ETH reclaiming the $4,000 mark on December 7 for the first time since March. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at approximately $4,007, though it remains 17% below its all-time high of $4,891 recorded in November 2021. Analysts remain optimistic, predicting that Ethereum could surpass its previous peak during the first quarter of 2025, aided by favorable market conditions and last month’s crypto deleveraging.
Social Sentiment
While Ethereum’s strong fundamentals and whale accumulation are generating bullish outlooks, Santiment’s social sentiment tracker highlights growing conversations around Bitcoin and emerging altcoins. Bitcoin’s recent surge to a record high of $107,800 has dominated discussions, with traders focusing on its market dominance and implications for altcoin performance.
Altcoins such as Vanachains (VANA) and Moca Networks (MOCA) have also drawn attention. VANA’s Binance Launchpool listing and token sales have fueled speculation, while MOCA saw an impressive 95% price surge over the past week following listings on South Korean exchanges.
The post Ethereum Whales Accumulate Record Holdings as New Wallet Activity Surges appeared first on TheCoinrise.com.
