Insight: ETH Whales Remain Strong, $2700 Level Forms Consensus Support Zone

**ETH 2026 Outlook: Core Issue Tied to Underlying Fragmentation, $2700 Is Critical Support – On-Chain Analyst Murphy (Dec 29)** On December 29, on-chain data analyst Murphy released a report titled *Is ETH Still Worth Watching in 2026?* summarizing Ethereum’s year-end on-chain trends. The key takeaway: ETH’s current core challenge isn’t above-chain dynamics but its **underlying fragmented structure**. $2700 now acts as a critical consensus support level. A break below this zone would send ETH into a **vacuum with no price anchor**. Whale groups haven’t abandoned ETH but have grown more cautious—chip concentration is rising rapidly and becoming systematically aggregated. ### On-Chain Behavior - Around September 18, large funds built positions near $4500 and didn’t sell during the December 6 peak. As ETH slid lower, these positions began exiting gradually. - Significant **trapped volume** clusters near $3100: this stems from whales that accumulated between $2600–$2700 from May to July, pushing their average cost to ~$3100. - Around November 23, large funds **bottom-fished** in the $2700–$2800 range, forming a dense chip cluster. No sell-off signs have emerged from this area to date. ### Chip Structure ETH’s most concentrated chip zone is $2700–$3100, holding 17.9 million ETH (22.6% of total circulation). Next is 4.43 million ETH near $3100. Murphy notes $3100 isn’t a rebound resistance, but $2700 should hold as effective support. ETH’s range-bound trading here reflects consensus among some institutions. ### Whale Holdings Wallet groups holding >100,000 ETH are the cycle’s “smartest players”: - They were the primary force behind accumulation when ETH fell to $1500 from February to April. - After ETH rebounded to $3500, they sold off rapidly—covering ETH’s August–October peak. - On November 21, when ETH dropped to $2700, this group added to positions again.