• The amount of ETH in whale addresses drops weeks after the Shanghai update, indicating that big investors may be leaning bearish. 
• Conversely, “shrimps” or small-scale investors with less than 1 ETH have increased their holdings in the past weeks.
• Digital asset analysts debate ETH price-to-whale ratio with some saying it is no longer a huge indicator as shown by charts in recent months.

The Post-Shanghai era for Ethereum (ETH) came with many possibilities for the network, including attracting more investors but a new statistic shows something might be brewing among big investors.

New data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode show that ETH supply in whale addresses has dropped since Shapella hit the Ethereum network. A drop in whale addresses could signify a shift in perspective from large investors who now look bearish for the short term.

ETH in wallets above 1000 – 10000 ETH stood at 14.167 million ETH a day for Shapella however, weeks after the update, the figure now stands at 14.033 million ETH. A week before the update, whales had acquired the highest amount of ETH in 2023, 14.303 million ETH. 

As the assets held by whales continue to decline, a similar pattern is also shown by smaller investors with 1- 1000 ETH and even mega whales above 10,000 ETH. However, users with less than 1 ETH have slightly increased their holdings.

Described as “shrimps”, their net position rose from 1.79 million to 1.80 million ETH. The Shapella upgrade hit Ethereum’s mainnet on April 12 to enable users to withdraw their staked assets for the first time since the Merge, which saw the network transition to a proof-of-stake blockchain. 

What’s next for the price of ETH? 

ETH has recorded a good run this year, soaring 55.29% and going past the $2,000 resistance level last month before declining below $1,900. Historically, reduced whale activity would give assets a bearish outlook as whales often ignite bull runs, although this is not always the case.

Between 2020 and 2021, ETH witnessed declining whale activity despite going on a bull run in 2021, but from the downtrend in 2022, whale holdings have risen by nearly 1 million ETH driving up the price to $1,857.

Ethereum has dipped since the Shanghai update as validators withdraw their staked assets. A declining whale activity coupled with a reduced investment of staked ETH points downward for the asset.