Ethereum might actually be outperforming every other cryptocurrency right now, and on-chain data shows that this is likely due to a series of accumulations on the back end. Ethereum recently bounced off $3,730, which in turn sent its price climbing back above the $3,800 mark and caused optimism that it could make another attempt toward $4,000.
Interestingly, while this is playing out, data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that whale wallets have steadily absorbed ETH supply throughout July to effectively push the supply on crypto exchanges to its lowest point in nine years.
Exchange Reserves Plunge To 2016 Levels
Many technical and on-chain fundamentals are currently lining up for Ethereum, but perhaps the most notable development is the decline in Ethereum’s exchange reserves. On-chain data shows that ETH held on centralized trading platforms has dropped to levels not seen since 2016, which makes it a new nine-year low. This decline in reserves is significant because it relays a reduction in sell-side pressure on top of the demand Ethereum is currently witnessing.
As shown in the chart image below, the total Ethereum reserve on exchanges has been on a free fall since the beginning of 2025. At the time of writing, the total Ethereum reserve on crypto exchanges is at 18.7 million ETH, which is just about 15.5% of the total ETH circulating supply.
Massive Whale Buys Shows Confidence
Ethereum’s exchange reserves aren’t just dropping by chance; they’re being actively drained by whales. According to data from on-chain transaction tracker Lookonchain, major investors have been aggressively buying ETH in recent weeks.
Since July 9, a total of eleven newly activated wallets have collectively accumulated 722,152 ETH, valued at $2.77 billion. Interestingly, Lookonchain recently noted that three of these wallets scooped up an additional 73,821 ETH, worth roughly $283 million. Another whale address, “0xF436,” withdrew 14,520 ETH worth about $53 million from exchanges in the past 9 hours.
The accumulation has been spread across many sources, including FalconX, Kraken, Galaxy Digital OTC, and Binance, with FalconX accounting for the three largest single-wallet purchases. One of these wallets received over 138,000 ETH, worth more than $531 million, between July 18 and July 23.
Supporting the bullish outlook is a major purchase by The Ether Reserve LLC, a treasury management arm of The Ether Machine. In a recent announcement tied to Ethereum’s 10th anniversary, the firm disclosed the acquisition of nearly 15,000 ETH, valued at around $56 million. This brings their total holdings to approximately 334,757 ETH, with an additional $407 million allocated for further Ethereum purchases.
As more capital is committed to ETH in this manner, and with exchange reserves nearing historic lows, the conditions for a rally to new all-time highs appear to be falling into place. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,485, down by 5.5% in the past 24 hours.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
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