Smart Money accumulates Ethereum despite traders warning of a drop to $2.4K

The upcoming Ethereum merger is one of the most talked about topics in the crypto sector, and analysts have a variety of perspectives on how the move to proof-of-stake could affect the price of Ether.

Whales accumulate before the merger

A deeper look into the ongoing accumulation of ether through whale wallets came from cryptocurrency intelligence firm Jarvis Labs, which sent The chart below shows the percentage change in Wal wallet holdings versus ET price.

The color of the dots relates to the price of Ether, with the chart showing that whale wallets started depleting their holdings when the price was above $4,000 and they didn’t start accumulating again until the price went below $2,300 had fallen.

Jarvis Labs said:

“Whales continue to accumulate ether, their accumulation remains in a sideways to uptrend.”

And it’s not just the whales looking to scoop ether on the dip, as shown below diagram with red dots indicating that both whale wallets and smaller wallets have seen an increase in accumulation.

Jarvis Labs analysts said:

“Just looking at ether wallet distributions, one can conclude that Whales UP + Fishes UP (both whales and fishes seem to be accumulating). Merge narrative?”

Is an Ethereum decoupling on the horizon?

Analysts at Delphi Digital pondered whether Ethereum price could decouple from BTC before or after the merger. The analysts also predict that the altcoin is “likely to see further consolidation for ETH/BTC in the near term.”

One of the main questions this chart raises is what it will take for Ethereum to break free of “the invisible chain” that has tied it to Bitcoin for so long.

According to Delphi Digital, the current bullish “sonic money” and “merge” narratives surrounding Ether could be just the thing to help Ether break out of its correlation with Bitcoin price action.

DelphiDigital said,

“Interest in ‘post-merge’ ether will only grow from here as more people recognize the opportunity to earn higher real returns denominated in a deflationary asset.”

Ether staking is gaining momentum

Even as Ether price continues to fall, data shows that the number of ETH staked on the Beacon chain continues to increase. Data from Dune Analytics also shows Eth2 deposits increasing, and several analysts have shared their views on how institutional investors and whales might trade Ether in the pre- and post-merger phase.

Overall, the data shows that despite Ether price being 42.5% off its all-time high, the smart money is on the back of an expected increase in staking reward percentage and an expectation that the price will turn bullish once Ethereum becomes a deflationary asset will continue to accumulate.

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