Retail Selling Keeps Ethereum Near $2.3K as Whales Accumulate

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What's really causing Ethereum's price to remain stagnant lately?

Why are whale investors accumulating Ethereum despite the current market downturn?

What has been dragging down investor sentiment around Ethereum recently?

Retail Selling Keeps Ethereum Near $2.3K as Whales Accumulate — Image source: Unblock Media

Heavy retail selling on Binance keeps ETH around $2,332, hindering price momentum.
Open interest and market dominance drop as short positions and profit-taking increase.

On April 23, 2026 (UTC), CoinDesk reported that Ethereum’s (ETH) price remained stagnant at approximately $2,332, as strong retail selling activity on Binance outweighed ongoing whale and institutional accumulation. This trend prevented Ethereum from joining Bitcoin’s broader upward movement, leading to a widening divergence between the two leading cryptocurrencies.

Retail traders maintained bearish sentiment, accelerating selling and profit-taking around ETH’s realized price of $2,307. Despite steady accumulation from large wallets, retail supply dominated, limiting breakout potential. Most of this significant selling occurred on centralized exchanges, primarily Binance.

ETH’s open interest in derivatives dropped to $12.47 billion, with short positions increasing between the $2,427 and $2,500 resistance range. This added downward pressure on the spot market, as the price hovered just above the realized threshold where many opted to take profits.

Recent negative developments in the DeFi sector—such as the Kelp DAO incident—further weakened sentiment and reduced confidence in Ethereum’s near-term prospects. These factors contributed to a flat trading environment, despite continued on-chain accumulation by whales.

Ethereum’s market dominance decreased to 10.1% while Bitcoin’s rose to 58%, reflecting ongoing decoupling. The ETH fear and greed index registered 61, indicating a neutral outlook without a clear trend towards bullishness or bearishness.

Analysts emphasized that immediate upside for ETH remains limited, with profit-taking and short positions outweighing long bets. While the long-term view still appears constructive, current conditions are cautious, shaped by retail-driven headwinds and macro uncertainty.

As of April 23, 2026, 15:09 UTC, Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $2,326.35, with a -3.04% change in 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap.