Data shows that whales are increasingly favoring Ethereum over Bitcoin

According to recent data, large investors (whales) in the cryptocurrency market are showing a stronger accumulation trend of Ethereum (ETH) compared to Bitcoin (BTC). Transaction activity recorded on Lookonchain shows that a whale swapped 502.8 BTC to acquire 14,500 ETH, and continued to swap 1,969 BTC for 58,149 ETH.

Source: Lookonchain The increasing demand for ETH relative to BTC among whales coincides with the growing share of Ethereum in the market. Conversely, Bitcoin’s market share still faces difficulties in surpassing the 60% mark.

Additionally, data from major order books indicate that whales have been continuously buying ETH on Coinbase and OKX exchanges over the weekend. In just the past three weeks, whales have made net purchases on the spot market worth approximately $17 million.

Furthermore, data also shows that whales have traded over $3.3 billion in futures contracts on OKX and Binance, reflecting growing confidence in ETH’s price prospects.

This optimistic sentiment is also reflected in ETH’s strong rally at the beginning of the week, with the coin increasing about 13% in the first half of the week before correcting and losing most of the gains.

Ethereum Price Outlook: Could Surpass $3,500 as Exchange Reserves Drop Significantly

Since the November lows, ETH’s price relative to BTC has shown increasing favor for Ethereum’s native coin. At the time of recording, ETH is trading at $3,075, up more than 16% from the November low.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price has only increased by over 9% from the November lows. ETH’s superior growth partly reflects the continuous decline of ETH holdings on exchanges.

Between December 9 and December 14, approximately 248,711 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, equivalent to over $766 million at current prices.

Ethereum exchange reserves | source: CryptoQuant The sharp decline in ETH reserves on exchanges indicates that investors are transferring assets to personal wallets, a move often associated with long-term accumulation strategies.

Combined with decreasing ETH reserves and bullish sentiment among whales, the market expects ETH to soon face supply shortages.

Last week, ETH reached a peak of $3,477 thanks to a strong rally. If demand continues and ETH withdrawals from exchanges increase, ETH could easily surpass $3,500 in favorable macroeconomic conditions.

However, the downward trend in the latter half of the week may also signal concerns ahead of the upcoming interest rate decision by the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

Ethereum Continues to Dominate the Stablecoin Market

The stablecoin market experienced impressive growth in 2025, following the strong development trend from the 2021 bull run. Regulatory factors this year have also contributed to bringing stablecoins closer to mainstream adoption.

Ethereum is leveraging its advantages to benefit from the stablecoin boom due to its leading market position. On December 14, 2021, the total value of stablecoins on Ethereum reached approximately $97.9 million. Currently, this figure has surged to over $171.8 billion.

Stablecoin statistics | Source: rwa.xyz The Ethereum network still maintains a significant lead over competitors. Tron ranks second with about $80.4 billion in stablecoins within its ecosystem, while Solana is third with $15.3 billion.

Since the beginning of 2025, the amount of stablecoins on Ethereum has increased by more than $54 billion, reaffirming its dominant position and ability to capitalize on growth opportunities as the market enters a phase of robust stablecoin adoption worldwide.