Ethereum climbed 7% to reclaim its 50-week moving average near $3,300, a technical breakout that has historically preceded triple-digit percentage rallies.
The move comes as large holders accumulated nearly 1 million ETH over three weeks while retail investors sold.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows ETH bounced from $2,800 support, rising 20% to the current price at $3,362.
The breakout has seen Ether reclaim the 50-week exponential moving average, increasing the likelihood of a steeper climb in the coming weeks.
What Happened
Previous instances show that ETH tends to rise sharply when the price closes above the 50-week EMA.
The altcoin's gains were 147% between October 2023 and March 2024.
ETH posted 97% gains in the third quarter of 2025.
"$ETH is back above its 50-day MA," said investor StockTrader_Max in a Tuesday post on X.
"I would love to see a break above the 200-day MA at $3,500 in the coming days with the bulls flipping this area as support."
Fellow analyst CyrilXBT said the "50-week MA is now a key line to hold" to increase the chances of a push toward the $4,000 area.
Market intelligence company Santiment reported Tuesday that whales and sharks accumulated approximately 934,240 ETH worth $3.15 billion over the past three weeks.
Wallets holding between 100 and 100,000 ETH saw balances climb steadily into early December.
Small holders with fewer than 10 ETH sold 1,041 ETH over the past week, creating divergent trading patterns between the two groups.
"Ethereum soars back to $3,400 with an ideal setup of whale and shark accumulation, but retailers are dumping," Santiment stated.
Additional data from CryptoQuant shows that whale wallets holding between 10,000 ETH and 100,000 ETH have reached record balances.
The wallets holding over 100,000 ETH also increased their holdings, indicating bullishness among larger cohorts and institutions.
Read also: Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Warns Elon Musk That X Hate Campaigns Could Hurt Free Speech
Why It Matters
The resumption in whale interest coincides with an uptick in demand for spot Ethereum ETF flows.
ETFs recorded $177.7 million in inflows on Dec. 9.
This marked one of the strongest single-day performances in recent weeks.
The ETH Coinbase Premium Index, a measure of U.S. investors' interest, remained positive over the past week after being negative for about a month.
This pointed to a return in demand from U.S. investors, which could propel ETH price higher.
Such divergences between large and small holders have historically preceded short-term price rallies or trend reversals in cryptocurrency markets.
The current accumulation trend suggests strategic positioning by major holders rather than speculative trading, according to data analysis.
Ethereum ended its five-month downtrend against Bitcoin.
The technical setup projects potential gains toward 0.09 BTC in under two months.
ETH traded near $3,330 on Wednesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's final rate decision of 2025.
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