Ethereum, institutional buying is pushing it up...why is the $3,000 rally getting further away?

▲ Ethereum (ETH)

Institutional funds are flowing into Ethereum (ETH), but persistent selling pressure from large holders is directly obstructing the $3,000 recovery scenario.

According to financial media outlet Benzinga on May 7 (local time), Ethereum is caught between conflicting trends: whale selling and increasing institutional adoption. The market is reacting more sensitively to the selling pressure from large wallets, which is suppressing short-term prices, rather than Ethereum's long-term position as a tokenized financial infrastructure.

Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez analyzed that Ethereum wallets holding between 1,000 ETH and 10,000 ETH have reversed a multi-month accumulation trend. According to Martinez, the holdings of this group of wallets increased from 12.95 million ETH in April 2025 to 15.95 million ETH on October 6, 2025, but have since decreased to approximately 12.52 million ETH. The reduction rate is 21.5%.

This whale group is considered an investor class that has provided liquidity in past major Ethereum market cycles. The recent selling pressure has been identified as a factor increasing supply burden on the market and making further breakthroughs difficult. Martinez stated that for Ethereum to continue its movement towards $3,000, new retail investors or institutional demand are needed to absorb the selling volume.

On the other hand, the trend of institutional adoption remains strong. Trader Lucky quoted investor Tom Lee's long-term bullish view, stating that he once compared the evolution of the Ethereum network to the changes in the U.S. dollar after the collapse of the gold standard in 1971. Benzinga pointed out that while Ethereum is experiencing short-term price pressure due to whale distribution selling, it is also establishing itself as the dominant settlement layer for tokenized finance.

Indicators supporting institutional adoption were also presented. Over $17 billion in real-world assets have been tokenized on Ethereum, an increase of 315% year-over-year. The value of Ethereum-based tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds reached approximately $8 billion, and over $175 billion in stablecoins have been settled on the network. BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Fidelity Investments, and Franklin Templeton are also building Ethereum-based tokenization infrastructure, and approximately 61% of global tokenized assets are currently operating on Ethereum.

Ultimately, Ethereum's short-term direction depends on how quickly institutional demand absorbs the whale selling volume. While increasing institutional adoption creates a long-term bullish case, the 21.5% reduction in holdings by large wallets holding between 1,000 ETH and 10,000 ETH remains the biggest burden on the Ethereum market as it approaches the $3,000 breakthrough.

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