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The share of Ethereum (ETH) held by so-called whale addresses has dropped since Ethereum's Shapella upgrade in mid April, suggesting that large investors may be leaning bearish in t near term.

ETH whale population shrinks post-Shapella

The amount of Ether held by addresses with 1,000-10,000 ETH, or "whales," was over 14.033 million ETH on May 1, according to Glassnode data. In comparison, the count was 14.167 million ETH on April 12, when Shapella went live on Ethereum.

Interestingly, a week before the Shapella upgrade, the Ethereum whale cohort held 14.303 million ETH, the highest amount in 2023

"Shrimps" only ones buying ETH since Shapella

Ether's price is down over 3.5% since the Shapella upgrade— suggesting that several whales may have indeed "sold the news."

Interestingly, other address cohorts also showed a decline, including sharks (100-1,000 ETH), fishes (10-100 ETH), crabs (1-10 ETH), and even mega-whales (10,000+ ETH).

Bitcoin (BTC) has room to drop below $25,000 to flush out a recent influx of speculators, research shows.

In the latest edition of its weekly newsletter, “The Week On-Chain,” analytics firm Glassnode flagged the ongoing influence of “short-term holders” (STHs) on BTC price action.

Profitability reset point lies below $25,000

BTC/USD has struggled to overcome $30,000 resistance in recent weeks, and multiple fakeouts have frustrated Bitcoin bulls.

In its latest investigation into on-chain activity, Glassnode revealed that market newcomers may be responsible — speculative behavior, including profit-taking, has become prevalent in 2023.

Among the metrics contributing evidence is market value to realized value (MVRV), which tracks spot price and the on-chain cost basis of specific investor segments. STH-MVRV reflects the relationship as it impacts STHs, defined as those hodling Bitcoin for 155 days or less.

Ether’s (ETH) price has shown weakness after failing to break above the $1,950 resistance on April 26. The subsequent correction drove ETH to $1,810 on May 1, nearing its lowest level in four weeks. Curiously, the movement happened while First Republic Bank (FRB) was seized by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan to protect FRB depositors, estimating a $13 billion loss.

Commented on the latest major U.S. bank failure, UBS analyst Erika Najarian stated:

“This deal does not change the rates, recession and regulatory headwinds that regional banks are facing.“

ETH price ignores banking crisis

Curiously, the VIX indicator, which measures how traders are pricing the risks of extreme price oscillations for the S&P 500 index, reached its lowest level in 18 months at 15.6% on May 1.