Ethereum price is hot right now after climbing above $2,650 today, reaching its highest price since January, according to analytics platform Santiment. The rally comes alongside increased wha
Ethereum price is hot right now after climbing above $2,650 today, reaching its highest price since January, according to analytics platform Santiment.
The rally comes alongside increased whale transaction activity and continued growth in the number of wallets holding ETH. Santiment’s chart shows Ethereum trading around $2,643 at its latest reading, while the number of non-empty wallets has reached a record 207.17 million.
The combination provides an interesting backdrop for ETH’s recovery, although rising whale activity alone cannot establish whether large holders are buying or selling.
Santiment’s chart tracks three metrics: Ethereum’s price movement, its total number of non-empty wallets and transactions worth more than $100,000.
The price action shows ETH climbing from roughly $1,900 in mid-August to above $2,600 by September 18. After spending much of early September moving sideways around $2,400–$2,500, Ethereum accelerated higher toward the end of the chart.
At the same time, the bars representing transactions exceeding $100,000 have increased, with the latest reading showing approximately 1,550 such transactions.
This indicates that large transfers are becoming more frequent as ETH breaks higher.
However, the metric does not reveal the purpose of those transactions. They could represent purchases, sales, exchange transfers or movements between wallets controlled by the same entity.
Source: X/@SantimentData
The increase is therefore evidence of greater large-transaction activity, not proof that whales are accumulating ETH.
Another important development is the continued expansion of Ethereum’s holder base.
According to Santiment, the network now has a record 207.17 million non-empty wallets.
The chart shows this figure climbing steadily throughout the past month, even during periods when ETH’s price struggled to advance.
That divergence matters because it indicates that the number of addresses holding ETH has continued growing despite uneven market performance.
However, wallets are not equivalent to individual investors. One person or institution can control multiple addresses, while exchanges and custodians can hold assets on behalf of numerous customers.
Santiment also points to Ethereum’s staking and decentralized finance ecosystem as potential reasons for continued participation.
The platform reports that more than 40 million ETH is staked, while Ethereum supports approximately $50 billion in decentralized finance total value locked.
Staking provides a mechanism for holders to earn rewards, while lending protocols, decentralized exchanges and other applications create additional uses for ETH.
These figures offer context for Ethereum’s ecosystem activity, but they do not establish that staking or DeFi demand caused Friday’s price increase.
Read also: Why Is the Crypto Market Up Today?
Ethereum’s immediate technical picture has improved following its move above the January high.
The Santiment chart places ETH around $2,643, making the $2,650–$2,670 region the first area to watch. A sustained advance beyond that zone could bring the psychological $2,700 level into focus.
If buying pressure continues above $2,700, traders may begin watching $2,800 as a subsequent upside reference point. That is a potential scenario rather than a target established by Santiment’s chart.
On the downside, the former trading area around $2,500–$2,550 is an initial zone to monitor.
A pullback toward that region would not necessarily invalidate the recovery, particularly if buyers defend it. However, a sustained decline below $2,500 would weaken the immediate breakout structure and put the previous consolidation range back in focus.
The rising whale transaction count adds an important variable. Continued activity alongside higher prices could accompany further volatility, but the transaction metric cannot determine the direction of the next move.
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The post Ethereum Price News: ETH Breaks January High as Whales Wake Up appeared first on CaptainAltcoin.
