Ethereum Bears Load Up $85M In Shorts As Traders Chase A Rebound

Ethereum (ETH) held near $1,736 as whale shorts grew, while most derivatives traders stayed positioned for a rebound.

Ethereum Shorts

Ethereum remained inside a broader descending channel, even as spot price action showed little movement around the $1,700 area.

The token traded at $1,736 at press time, up 0.08% on the day, according to the report by Gladys Makena and reviewed by Renuka Tahelyani. The narrow move did not change the larger structure.

Large holders appeared less willing to wait for a confirmed breakdown.

Onchain Lens said the whale wallet “pension-usdt.eth” increased a 3x leveraged ETH short to 50,000 ETH, worth $85.28 million. The position carried more than $1.43 million in unrealized profit, while another whale opened a 23,000 ETH short with 20x leverage before closing it for about $125,000 in profit.

Also Read: Is Aster Building The Most Aggressive Buyback Program In DeFi?

ETH Traders

The bearish whale activity did not match the wider derivatives market.

CoinGlass data showed $22 million in short liquidations, a sign that aggressive downside bets were still vulnerable to sudden moves. Coinalyze data also showed the long-short ratio rising to 2.73, with about 73% of open positions long and 26% short.

That split leaves Ethereum between two forces.

Whale shorts suggest confidence in another leg lower, but broad trader positioning shows many market participants still expect a rebound. The Directional Movement Index from TradingView showed the negative directional indicator still leading, while the ADX sat near 5.

That reading points to weak trend strength, meaning Ethereum could stay trapped between $1,600 and $1,700 unless derivatives demand forces short liquidations and pushes price toward $1,850 resistance.

Ethereum has struggled to rebuild momentum after broader market weakness hit large-cap altcoins. The current range matters because repeated failures near $1,700 have kept sellers active, while each defense of the lower band has delayed a cleaner bearish break.

Read Next: XRP Buyers Keep Stepping In, So Why Does A Sub-$1 Drop Still Loom?