While small investors panic over Ethereum’s steep 37% drop over the past month, large institutions are reacting very differently.
At press time, Ethereum (ETH) was trading around $2,013, a level that seems risky to many. But for some of the biggest names in crypto, this crash is an opportunity rather than a warning sign.
Bitmine by Arthur Hayes and Tom Lee adds Ethereum
According to Lookonchain, Arthur Hayes deposited 1,000 ETH worth approximately $1.99 million into Bybit, demonstrating active positioning during market volatility.
At the same time, Tom Lee’s Bitmine purchased an additional 45,759 ETH worth $90.83 million, increasing its total holdings to 4,371,497 ETH valued at $8.68 billion.
With an average entry price of around $3,821, the company is now sitting on an unrealized loss of over $8.03 billion.
This comes as Ethereum continues to struggle near key levels. Yet despite the low prices, some analysts remain optimistic about its long-term recovery.
For example, Borovik noted:
“ETH is down 33% since the start of 2026. I think ETH has bottomed here. I predict $10,000 in ETH by the end of 2027.”
Does Ethereum Look Weak or Healthy?
Ethereum is now in what analysts call a market cold phase. Data from Alphractal shows that Ethereum’s market temperature, which tracks indicators such as MVRV, RVT, and NUPL, is close to zero.
In simple terms, this means that market emotions have almost disappeared.
Source: Alphractal/X
In the past, these cold spells usually appeared after retail investors had already sold in fear. When this happens, greed fades and is replaced by hesitation and low confidence, leaving the market calm and depressed.
The price of Ethereum reflects this change. After falling from $4,500, ETH is now stuck near $2,000 without a strong rebound. Instead of a rapid recovery, prices move sideways, showing low buying interest.
What does the MVRV ratio tell us about where ETH is next?
The red and yellow areas on the chart show how different traders feel.
Source: Santiment
The red zone tracks people who have purchased Ethereum in the last 30 days, and it is deeply negative. This means that more recent buyers are losing money, making them frustrated and more likely to sell when prices rise.
The yellow zone follows short-term traders over 24 hours. Currently, the situation is flat and calm, showing that even day traders have lost interest. Normally, strong funds are accompanied by big moves in this area, but this is lacking.
Together, these signals indicate a low-energy market. Long-term buyers are stuck in losses and short-term traders are inactive.
What more?
This follows Jeffrey Huang’s recent move, which took a much riskier route. According to Lookonchain, Huang lost more than $27.5 million in just 20 days and has been liquidated 145 times since the end of 2025.
Yet instead of reducing risk, he became more aggressive, selling spot holdings to fund highly leveraged bets on Bitcoin, Ethereum and HYPE.
All of these moves show that Ethereum is in dire straits, and if buyers fail to regain confidence quickly, even the strongest investors could come under serious pressure.
Final summary
- Hayes has a habit of buying when sentiment is weakest and prices seem riskiest.
- The $2,000 level has become key psychological and technical support for Ethereum.
