Ether (ETH) is demonstrating significant resilience, staging a powerful recovery and trading near the $2,800 mark after a period of intense selling pressure. The ETHUSDT pair has surged over 6% in the last 24 hours, climbing from a low of $2,605.72 to a high of $2,797.76. This rebound follows a sharp rejection earlier in the week, where prices tumbled from a peak near $2,679.99 down to $2,527.37 during a volatile session on June 16. While the immediate price action was bearish, breaking through initial support levels, a fascinating divergence has emerged between the spot market and the behavior of large-scale investors, suggesting a deeper conviction in ETH's long-term value proposition.

ETH Whales on a Historic Buying Spree

While retail traders may have been shaken by the recent downturn, on-chain data reveals that institutional-sized players, or "whales," have been accumulating ETH at a pace not witnessed in years. According to on-chain analysis highlighted by Lookonchain, data from Glassnode shows a staggering level of buying activity. For nearly a week, the daily net accumulation by whale wallets has consistently surpassed 800,000 ETH. This aggressive accumulation has pushed the total holdings in wallets containing between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH to over 14.3 million ETH. The most significant single-day inflow occurred on June 12, when these large holders added a massive 871,000 ETH to their balance sheets. Analysts note that this scale of sustained buying from major players has not been seen since the bull market of 2017, signaling a strong belief that the recent price dip represents a valuable entry point rather than a sustained trend reversal.

Technical Levels and Trading Dynamics

From a technical standpoint, the recent price action has established clear battlegrounds for traders. The sharp 5.7% drop on June 16 confirmed strong resistance at the $2,650-$2,680 zone. However, the subsequent whale accumulation provided a solid floor, with significant buying pressure observed around the $2,550 level. The current rally has decisively broken past that former resistance, which may now act as a new support level. The immediate challenge for ETH bulls is to overcome the 24-hour high at $2,797.76. A sustained break above $2,800, supported by strong volume, would signal a continuation of the upward momentum and could invalidate the recent bearish sentiment. Conversely, a failure to break this resistance could lead to a consolidation phase, with traders watching the $2,650 and $2,550 levels as key areas of potential support.

Cross-Asset Performance: ETH vs. BTC and SOL

Analyzing ETH's performance against other major cryptocurrencies provides additional context for traders. The ETHBTC trading pair has shown remarkable strength, rallying nearly 4% to a price of 0.0251 BTC. This indicates that during the recent market turbulence and subsequent recovery, ETH has outperformed Bitcoin, a bullish signal for the altcoin market. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL), another key Layer-1 competitor, has also seen positive momentum, with the SOLUSDT pair rising to approximately $157. However, the SOLETH pair, trading around 0.068, suggests that ETH has maintained a slight performance edge over SOL in the very near term. This outperformance of ETH against both BTC and SOL, coupled with the historic whale accumulation, suggests that capital may be rotating into Ethereum in anticipation of future catalysts, such as developments around spot ETH ETFs.

In conclusion, the Ethereum market is at a critical juncture, characterized by a bullish divergence between strong on-chain accumulation and a recent, albeit sharp, price correction. The aggressive buying by whales, reminiscent of 2017, provides a powerful underlying support structure for the market. Traders are now closely monitoring the price action around the $2,800 resistance level. A successful breakout could confirm that the whale-driven accumulation has fueled a new leg up, targeting higher resistance zones. However, if buying pressure wanes, ETH could re-test lower support levels, offering another potential accumulation opportunity. The strength in the ETHBTC pair remains a key indicator of institutional confidence and a potential precursor to broader market strength.