Ethereum Price Stalls Near $2.4K as Whales Take Conflicting Positions

Ethereum (ETH) price is struggling to move higher after its recent rejection at $2,567. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency has now spent time moving between $2.3K and $2.4K, leaving traders waiting for a clearer move. At the time of reporting, the asset is trading for $2,380, down a modest 1.47% on the daily chart. 

Ethereum price remains stuck below $2.4K

The drop comes as traders face two very different signals from large Ethereum holders. Some whales are putting fresh money into long positions, betting that ETH can recover. 

At the same time, another large holder has moved a huge amount of ETH to exchanges, raising the possibility of more selling. 

Binance’s Taker Buy/Sell Ratio has fallen to 0.86, indicating that aggressive sell orders are currently outweighing aggressive buy orders.

According to Analyst Pelinay, on Cryptoquant, This creates a notable negative divergence: while ETH remains near elevated price levels, buyer participation is weakening. A Taker Buy/Sell Ratio below 1 suggests that sellers have gained greater control in the short term, making it difficult to argue that the current price is being supported by strong aggressive buying demand.

Long traders take fresh positions

The pressure on long traders has already been heavy. According to CoinGlass data, about $53 million in ETH long positions were liquidated within the last 24 hours, while short positions worth $16.04 million were also  liquidated. This means traders betting on prices going up suffered most of the losses during the recent drop. 

Still, some traders are not backing away from the long side. Lookonchain reported that a trader known as 0x89da opened a 25x long position on 18,587 ETH worth about $44.85 million. The trader had been inactive for seven months before making the move. 

“Trader 0x89da opened a 25x long on 18,587 ETH ($44.85M) after 7 months of inactivity,” Lookonchain reported. 

Trader 0x89da opened a 25x long on 18,587 $ETH ($44.85M) after 7 months of inactivity.https://t.co/PRLUtdx3V7 pic.twitter.com/q0EnvOeEon

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 2, 2026

Binance and OKX traders favor longs

The activity is not limited to one whale. Data from CoinGlass shows that traders on Binance and OKX are also leaning toward long positions. The Long/Short Ratio on both exchanges remained above 1, while Binance recorded a ratio of 2.7. In simple terms, more traders were betting on ETH going up than going down. 

But the spot market is telling a different story. Lookonchain reported that a whale had deposited 103,252 ETH worth about $253 million into several exchanges. 

What a massive dump!

This mysterious Ethereum whale has deposited a total of 103,252 $ETH($253M) into multiple exchanges over the past 3 days and still holds 64,603 $ETH($155.8M).https://t.co/Co6anHzky4 pic.twitter.com/RmtLweYqaP

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 2, 2026

After those transfers, the wallet still held 64,603 ETH worth around $155 million. If more of those coins are sold, Ethereum could face additional selling pressure.

Ethereum momentum begins to weaken

This mixed whale activity is coming as Ethereum’s price momentum begins to weaken. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped to 60.81 after a bearish crossover. The RSI is still in the bullish zone, meaning buyers have not completely lost control, but the fall shows that the recent strength has relaxed.

For now, the market has two competing forces. Derivatives traders are still putting money behind a possible rebound, while large spot-market deposits could bring more selling if those ETH holdings are moved out.

If the bearish shift continues, the source expects ETH could fall toward $2.2K. However, continued demand from leveraged traders could help Ethereum push back toward $2.5K

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