A whale bought $19.1 million worth of Ethereum today, according to a tweet, as the second-largest cryptocurrency continues to trade in a tight range near $1,900. ETH was at $1,912 at press time, down 0.41% over the past 24 hours, with an intraday band of $1,895.10 to $1,917.74. The purchase comes as ETH underperforms relative to select altcoins in AI, restaking, and L2 narratives.
Whale activity draws attention
The buyer, flagged by on-chain monitors, scooped up the ETH in a single transaction. Whale moves often signal conviction, but the timing isn't great — ETH has been stuck between $1,880 support and $1,950 resistance for days. Volume sits around $8.7 billion, below recent averages. The purchase didn't jolt the price out of its rut; ETH barely budged after the transaction hit the mempool.
Macro and regulatory signals in focus
Traders say directional bias depends on upcoming macroeconomic data and any regulatory signals. The key resistance zone is $1,950 to $1,970; support holds at $1,880 to $1,895. Until something breaks, the range is likely to persist. ETH's underperformance relative to AI, restaking, and L2 tokens suggests capital is rotating into niche narratives while the broader market waits for a catalyst.
Meme token presale raises $4.8M
Meanwhile, a new ERC-20 meme token called Maxi Doge ($MAXI) has raised $4,836,932.30 in its presale, with tokens priced at $0.0002832. The project is still in its early fundraising stage. It's a reminder that speculative appetite for meme coins hasn't faded, even as ETH itself drifts sideways.
The whale's buy adds a bullish data point, but ETH's price action remains tethered to broader market forces. The next few days will show whether the $1,950 resistance can be tested again — or if the range holds into next week's economic data.
