KEY POINTS

  • While the price of Ethereum has decreased, the number of whales has increased by 68
  • Whales refer to cryptocurrency holders having large holdings of a particular token in their wallets
  • Data shows that the concentration of large holders in Ethereum has reached 40%

Despite decreasing Ethereum price in the last seven days, the 2nd largest cryptocurrency saw an increase in the number of users that hold 1,000 to 10,000 ETH, worth around $344,550 to $3,445,500.

Called "whales" because of their large holdings, this group of holders has steadily added more Ethereum into their wallets and according to intelligence firm Santiment, there are around 68 whales that recently joined the ETH ecosystem, Bitcoin.com reports.

Santiment said the spike in the number of whales with millions of dollars in ETH began just as Ethereum's price started falling. The roughly 68 news whales holding 1,000 to 10,000 ETH joined in the last three days, the firm noted in a tweet.

Bitcoin.com noted that the concentration of large holders in Ethereum has reached 40%. This is more than Bitcoin, which has its large holders concentrated at 10%. Using data from IntoTheBlock, 56% of Ethereum holders have held on to their positions for more than one year now, while 36% have been holding them for at least one to 12 months. In comparison, 65% of Bitcoin holders have been holding their positions for more than one year now while 24% are holding the cryptocurrency for at least one to 12 months.

At current prices, the data suggests that 68% of ETH holders are in profit while 30% are not.

In contrast to the two cryptocurrencies, Chainlink has the largest concentration of holders at 80%.

Most tokens in the cryptocurrency market have seen their value decreased in the last seven days, with Bitcoin dropping from $12,000 to $10,191 while Ethereum dropped from $473 to $337. As Ether collapsed in value, so do many tokens in the decentralized finance space. This includes the controversial Sushi token of the SushiSwap project, whose leader Chef Nomi decided to dump his tokens in the market. Chef Nomi has since transferred the control of the project to Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of derivatives exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried, in turn, promised to turn over the project to the community.

Ethereum, Bitcoin
In this photo illustration, visual representations of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Ethereum are pictured atop a Japanese 10,000 yen note on March 20, 2020 in Katwijk, Netherlands. Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images