Ethereum (ETH) traded above $2,500 after a 4.1% daily gain, while improving holder profitability and ETF inflows competed with large-scale selling pressure.
Key Points:
- Ethereum traded at $2,508.45 after a 4.1% daily gain, reclaiming $2,500.
- MVRV crossed above 1.00 after 200 days below it, placing average holders back in unrealized profit.
- A $408 million whale exit and hacker-linked swaps kept selling pressure in focus despite ETF inflows.
CryptoQuant Profitability
Ethereum traded at $2,508.45 after breaking above the $2,500 resistance level, an area it had struggled to reclaim since February 2026. Media reported the move after a prolonged stretch of bearish pressure and consolidation rather than a sustained bullish advance.
Momentum indicators also improved as ETH’s relative strength index eased from overbought territory toward the 60-to-70 range. That still pointed to strong bullish momentum.
CryptoQuant data showed Ethereum’s market value to realized value ratio moved above 1.00 on Aug. 21 for the first time in 200 consecutive days. The shift came after ETH recovered above its reported realized price near $2,300, putting the average holder back into unrealized profit.
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Ethereum Sell Pressure
A positive MVRV reading does not guarantee further gains, because the realized-price zone can also encourage holders to sell once positions return to profit. Holding above roughly $2,300 therefore remains important for the recovery.
Selling pressure is already visible on-chain. Lookonchain tracked a whale that had assembled 167,855 ETH and later appeared to sell the entire position, worth roughly $408 million at reported prices, across about five days.
At one reported snapshot, 70,739 ETH worth about $174 million had reached exchanges, while 97,115 ETH worth about $237 million remained in the wallet.
According to Galaxy research head Alex Thorn, a Coldcard-linked hacker also began swapping stolen Bitcoin (BTC) for Ether through THORChain, moving about 10% of the stolen funds while 90% remained untouched. At the same time, SoSoValue data showed spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $365.17 million in July and $1.85 billion in August.
September inflows had reached another $104.26 million at the time of reporting, providing a source of demand even as large holders sold. Bulls still need to establish $2,500 as support after ETH recently stalled near $2,458.
Ethereum’s latest breakout follows months of difficulty holding major resistance, with the market only regaining its $2,300 realized price in August after the MVRV ratio spent 200 days below 1.00. That history leaves the $2,300-to-$2,500 zone central to whether the rebound can develop into a broader advance.
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