Ethereum Whales Sell as Retail Accumulation Hits Record Highs

TLDR:

• Ethereum retail accumulation addresses have surged to near-record levels in late 2025 and early 2026.
• ETH SOPR has remained close to 1 for an extended period, reflecting limited fresh capital inflows.
• NUPL remains above 2018 and 2022 bear market lows, leaving room for further ETH price downside.
• Binance user deposit addresses stay below bull market peaks, slowing but not halting ETH’s decline.

Ethereum’s on-chain metrics are pointing to a growing divide between retail and large-scale investors. Accumulating retail addresses have surged to near-record levels in late 2025 and early 2026.

Meanwhile, the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) has remained close to 1 for an extended period. The Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) indicator also leaves room for further downside.

Together, these readings paint a cautious picture of where ETH currently stands.

Retail Buyers Step In as On-Chain Signals Flash Caution

Retail accumulation in the Ethereum network has reached exceptional levels in recent months. Historically, the strongest retail buying tends to occur during the later stages of a market cycle.

Larger players, by contrast, tend to use these periods to distribute their holdings into demand. Rising retail accumulation, therefore, does not automatically translate into a bullish outlook.

SOPR has been hovering near the 1 level for a prolonged stretch of trading sessions. This reading shows that investors are largely breaking even on spent outputs.

Fresh capital entering the market remains limited under these conditions. Markets that stay near this SOPR range for long periods tend to become fragile over time.

Analyst PelinayPA weighed in on the current setup, stating: “Retail investors are buying aggressively, yet SOPR isn’t confirming a strong bullish trend. When growing demand fails to push prices higher, it often suggests significant selling pressure on the other side of the market.”

The observation points directly to whale distribution absorbing retail demand without driving prices upward. That dynamic has become one of the more closely watched developments in Ethereum’s on-chain landscape.

On the exchange side, Binance user deposit addresses remain below prior bull market peaks. This pattern suggests that many holders are still keeping ETH off exchanges rather than preparing to sell.

That behavior may be contributing to the relatively gradual pace of the current decline. However, it does not remove the underlying risks present in the current data.

NUPL Leaves Room for Further ETH Downside

NUPL currently reflects a market where unrealized profits have declined but remain above bear market extremes. The readings seen during the 2018 and 2022 bear markets were far more depressed than current levels.

This gap means there is still space for sentiment to weaken further before ETH reaches historically oversold territory. Investors should note this distinction when evaluating the present conditions.

PelinayPA further noted: “A break of SOPR below 1 combined with a weaker NUPL could increase the risk of a deeper ETH correction.” This scenario does not confirm an imminent crash, but it does raise the probability of extended downside.

Analysts tracking Ethereum have flagged this combination as a key threshold to monitor. The two indicators carry more weight when read together than in isolation.

When increasing demand fails to move prices higher, it often points to heavy selling pressure on the opposite side of the market. Whales appear to be absorbing retail demand as they distribute their holdings.

Until SOPR confirms renewed strength and NUPL compresses further, the near-term outlook for ETH remains uncertain. The current on-chain setup warrants measured caution from market participants.

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