On-chain subtle signals sometimes tell us more than candlestick charts.

Recently, I came across a piece of data: an early Ethereum address that had been dormant for exactly 10 years and 3 months suddenly transferred out 1000 ETH on the afternoon of November 15, 2025. This caused a stir in the community, with many people's immediate reaction being a warning of a dump—"Ancient whale is about to sell, run for it."

But that doesn't quite add up. Would someone who has held their chips for ten years choose to let go at this moment? If they really had that kind of guts, they wouldn't lack the gains from this ETH already. The real issue might be more nuanced.

**What are the whales doing?**

In the crypto market, addresses holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH are usually called whales. The actions of these players often serve as a market thermometer.

The data is quite interesting. Starting from the end of April 2025, the total holdings of the whale camp actually increased by about 760 tokens, a growth of 52%. During the same period, retail investors holding between 100 and 1,000 ETH were reducing their holdings, with a decrease of 16%.

This is intriguing—while retail investors panic-sell, the big players are quietly accumulating. This kind of divergence has repeatedly played out in market history and usually signals that something different is brewing.