Ethereum (ETH) Continues to Trade Sideways Near the $1800 Mark, Underperforming Peers Despite a Broader Market Rebound

NOIDA (CoinChapter.com) - Ethereum (ETH) continued to trade sideways near the $1,800, underperforming peers despite a broader market rebound. The token was trading hands at $1,821 with a modest 0.8% intraday gain on April 29. In contrast, assets like Solana and Sui posted stronger week-on-week advances, while Bitcoin was still holding levels above $59,000.

This divergence in price performance might be reflecting a cautious stance among ETH traders. While overall market sentiment has improved following easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, Ethereum’s price action remains constrained by platform-specific factors.

Chief among them is persistent competition from faster and cheaper Layer 1 alternatives and the uncertainty surrounding scalability improvements promised in future network upgrades.

CoinShares’ latest report confirmed $183 million in weekly inflows into Ethereum-linked investment products, supporting this narrative of institutional positioning.

The asset now has $398 million in year-to-date inflows, placing it firmly behind Bitcoin but ahead of other altcoins. These flows mark a return of institutional capital after prolonged ETF outflows through Q1.

Despite ETH’s flat price action, the token’s metrics reflect increasing confidence among informed market participants. Ethereum’s current consolidation phase could evolve into a breakout if these trends continue.

Whale Accumulation, Exchange Outflows, And ETF Flows Signal Strong Sentiment

A whale transaction caught attention on social media platforms like X. Crypto trader and analyst account Ash Crypto noted in an April 29 post that a whale acquired $54 million worth of ETH and $56.7 million in BTC through Wintermute OTC. Blockchain analysis platform Arkham surfaced the transaction.

Such large OTC purchases usually indicate a long-term strategy by high-net-worth entities or institutions to avoid impacting prices with massive open market orders. They typically reflect strong conviction and can precede directional market shifts.

The scale of this purchase aligns with the growing accumulation patterns visible in recent on-chain data. Glassnode’s wallet balance distribution chart shows that addresses holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH increased their positions significantly between April 10 and 27.

This cohort had been reducing holdings earlier in the year, but the recent accumulation signals a potential inflection point, displaying growing confidence among institutional entities.

Furthermore, Ethereum’s Exchange Net Position Change metric remains deeply negative, supporting this trend of large-scale ETH accumulation.

Since mid-April, consistent outflows from centralized exchanges suggest that ETH is being moved to self-custody, decreasing short-term sell pressure. These outflows, at times exceeding 200,000 ETH per day, reinforce a broader accumulation phase among large investors.

Finally, institutional sentiment has also flipped. ETH-linked investment products saw net inflows resume this week, following two months of persistent outflows.

The convergence of large OTC purchases, whale wallet growth, exchange outflows, and ETF demand might hint at an accumulation narrative. While ETH price remains flat, the underlying behavior of key market participants suggests positioning ahead of a potential breakout.

Ethereum’s consolidation may mark the calm before a stronger upward move if these trends continue.