$332M Ethereum deposit meets rising ETH scarcity – Is $3.3K next?

Ethereum [ETH] has traded within a thin margin and remained stuck in a parallel consolidation for the past week. Over this period, Ethereum has hovered between $2.9k and $3k, indicating a market at a decision point. 

At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $2,949, down 2.87% on the daily chart. With the price showing little movement in either direction, investors have been compelled to reassess their positions.

Ethereum whale deposits $332M in ETH

Interestingly, after ETH retraced from its October peaks, whale activity skyrocketed through December. The Whale Hunter Indicator on TradingView showed sustained whale signals during price dips of 3 to 8%. 

Source: TradingView

Thus, every time ETH attempted a rebound, whales sold on the rallies, hindering any sustained upside breakout. Thus, during this period of weakness, whales have sold into strength and absorbed retail bids, pushing prices lower. 

Amid shifting market dynamics, a Bitcoin OG whale holding $749 million in long positions has been actively adjusting his ETH exposure.

According to Lookonchain, the whale recently deposited 112,894 ETH (valued at $332 million) into Binance. Just a few days earlier, the whale had moved another 100,000 ETH worth $291 million to the exchange.

Source: Lookonchain

The OG longs have a floating loss of $50 million. Although the whale recently deposited a substantial amount of ETH into Binance, it has yet to be sold. 

Such deposits often indicate liquidity preparation, with tokens potentially remaining idle for an extended period. Alternatively, the move could signal an attempt to hedge existing spot exposure.

ETH scarcity is on the rise!

Despite increased Bitcoin OG exchange deposits, Ethereum’s scarcity has recovered significantly. In fact, the Stock-to-flow Ratio (SFR) surged to 47 at press time, reaching a 2-week high.

Such a spike in SFR suggested a reduced supply available for immediate selling, reflecting increased accumulation across market participants.

Source: Santiment

Typically, greater scarcity has accelerated upward price pressure, especially if demand keeps up, leading to higher prices.

At the same time, Ethereum’s Spot Netflow has shown a positive reading only five times in the past 30 days. More recently, the metric has stayed negative for seven straight days, falling to ‑$10.6 million.

The continued decline here indicated that market participants on exchanges have been aggressively accumulating, a clear bullish signal.

Source: CoinGlass

Historically, such markets have significantly boosted price movement to the upside. Therefore, if this demand continues to hold, ETH could finally flip $3k into support and target $3324, where whale momentum holds.

However, if sellers, especially Bitcoin OG, decide to sell, ETH could break out of the consolidation range and drop to $2784.

Final Thoughts

• Whale deposits 112,894 ETH, worth approximately $332 million, into Binance, increasing the total deposits to $629 million.
• ETH remains stuck within a thin margin, but rising scarcity signals a potential breakout.