Ethereum’s largest whales back in ‘hodl’ mode after Merge

After a significant slump in accumulation ahead of the long-awaited Merge upgrade to the Ethereum (ETH) network that marked its transition from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm, the token’s largest whales seem to be back in the ‘hodling’ mode.

Specifically, Ethereum’s top 10 largest non-exchange addresses have added 6.7% more ETH after the decline leading up to the Merge in September, according to the data published by the cryptocurrency market intelligence platform Santiment on November 1.

As per the latest available data, Ethereum’s non-exchange whales hold 23.7 million ETH. At the same time, the chart shows that Ethereum’s top 10 exchange addresses recorded only a 0.2% increase in accumulation during the same period, currently holding 8.7 million ETH.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum blockchain has also recorded an uptick in the smart contract activity after the Merge, or specifically since October 9, nearing 90,000, which are the levels last recorded in July 2021, as Finbold reported.

Ethereum price analysis

At press time, Ethereum is recording increases in price as well, changing hands at $1,588, which is a growth of 0.33% across the previous 24 hours, as well as 18.02% compared to seven days before, adding up to the monthly increase of 21.25%.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) token’s market capitalization currently stands at $194.33 billion, retaining its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency by this indicator.

Ethereum price predictions

Earlier, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence Mike McGlone opined that Ethereum’s switch to PoS amid the global energy crisis and its commanding position at the center of finance digitalization could serve as a foundation for its continuing price appreciation.

Taking into account the increased whale accumulation, technical analysis (TA) indicators, and predictions of certain crypto trading experts, ETH could indeed break above the $3,000 price level in 2023, especially after it spiked beyond $1,500 for the first time since September 15 and has remained there.

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