DeFi

April

ETH stabilized with ongoing accumulation from whales, but retail traders have broken the directional rally. ETH traded above $2,300, while retail used Binance to leave the market.&nbsp;
Retail ETH traders have a more bearish sentiment and are one of the major sources of selling pressure. While whales and companies like <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/bitmine-records-biggest-eth-buy-in-4-months/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitmine</a> are ramping up their accumulation, retail traders are trying to abandon ETH.&nbsp;
ETH traded at $2,332.55, with a still neutral sentiment. The token remains relatively stagnant compared to BTC, which attempted several rallies above $78,000. ETH traded sideways, still trying to process a multitude of factors, including a recent <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/fluid-shines-defi-alternatives-gain-kelpdao/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DeFi liquidity shock</a> following the Kelp DAO hack.
The ETH fear and greed index increased slightly to 61 points, though still not indicating a strong directional move.&nbsp;
<h3 id="span-why-is-eth-stagnating-span">Why is ETH stagnating?</h3>
ETH is still trading in a tight range, with the occasional dip by up to 9% on the weekly chart. The token reacts to a mix of geopolitical tensions, hacks, and diminished trust in DeFi.&nbsp;
Currently, ETH trades just above its average realized price, meaning a convenient exit range for some traders. The realized price hovers around $2,307, just below the current trading range. 
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ETHRealizedApr232026.png" alt="Retail traders are leaving ETH, not allowing the price to break out " width="1842" height="671">
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 ETH traded very close to its average realized price, causing whales to hold or accumulate, but pushing retail to sell. | Source: <a href="https://cryptoquant.com/community/dashboard/69285db4160b570d64bc029e" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cryptoquant</a>
 </figcaption>
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On spot markets, ETH faced a selling wall above $2,330, an overhang of around 3,500 ETH in a short range. This selling pressure prevented ETH from breaking out, as <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/mergev2/ETH-USD-SPOT" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">buy orders</a> clustered at $2,320 as of April 23.
ETH whales are just emerging from a period of carrying unrealized losses, and are in no rush to sell.&nbsp;
At the same time, retail addresses show an uptick in activity and deposits to Binance. Despite the holding stance of whales, retail produces enough selling pressure to cut short the ETH rally. Even a small ETH recovery triggers increased deposits and profit-taking, enough to offset the whale buying.&nbsp;
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ETHRetailApr232026.png" alt="Retail traders are leaving ETH, not allowing the price to break out " width="911" height="512">
 <figcaption>
 ETH retail traders moved in to realize gains, with sufficient activity to keep ETH within its tight price range for the past week. | Source: <a href="https://cryptoquant.com/community/dashboard/69d9b0f6939b763fb0153510?e=69e987ef6aae2d16bb46ea97" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cryptoquant</a>
 </figcaption>
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Additionally, activity on Binance has a bigger chance of swaying the ETH price, compared to whale treasury building, which may rely on OTC deals.&nbsp;
<h3 id="span-eth-detaches-from-btc-momentum-span">ETH detaches from BTC momentum</h3>
Despite the healthy on-chain indicators, ETH has decoupled from BTC and trades more cautiously.&nbsp;
ETH open interest is down to $12.47B based on Coinalyze <a href="https://coinalyze.net/ethereum/open-interest/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a>, down from local peaks above $14B.&nbsp;
The token is also heavily shorted at the $2,427 range, showing that even a short squeeze may not cause a significant rally. ETH long positions are more scarce, and may not invite liquidations in the short term. The token gained support at around $2,200, based on the current liquidation heatmap as of April 23.
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LiquidationEthApr232026.jpg" alt="Retail traders are leaving ETH, not allowing the price to break out " width="1561" height="779">
 <figcaption>
 ETH has accumulated heavier short open interest up to $2,500, but has not shown a breakout for the past week. | Source: <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/pro/futures/LiquidationHeatMap?coin=ETH" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Coinglass</a>
 </figcaption>
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ETH market cap dominance is also sinking to 10.1%, while the BTC dominance recovered to 58%. The relative strength index for ETH is at the market average of around 49 points, based on CoinMarketCap data. The BTC <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/rsi/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">RSI index</a> is up to 53 points, showing a stronger conviction and directional trading. 
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ETH price break out faces selling pressure from leaving retail traders

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