Retail Sellers Stall ETH Breakout Above $2.3K as Whales Accumulate

- Retail profit-taking on Binance caps Ethereum below breakout levels near $2,300 - Whale and institutional buying offset by DeFi-related fears and falling derivatives interest On April 23, 2024, Cryptopolitan reported that heavy retail selling on Binance kept Ethereum’s price anchored above $2,300, as intensifying profit-taking formed a persistent selling wall that halted breakout attempts. Although sentiment indicators remained largely neutral and whales as well as institutional investors continued to accumulate ETH, their buying has not been sufficient to counter ongoing retail outflows, which has resulted in narrow-range trading and prevented Ethereum from mirroring Bitcoin’s recent rallies. During this period, market data showed that Ethereum’s open interest in derivatives continued to decline and stood at $12.47 billion on April 23, 2024, compared to previous peaks above $14 billion, according to Coinalyze. In addition, broader sentiment was dampened by a series of recent DeFi hacks, including the Kelp DAO liquidity incident, which eroded investor confidence and sparked additional selling pressure from retail holders. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s market dominance dipped to 10.1%, while Bitcoin held at 58%, and significant short positioning emerged in the $2,427–$2,500 range. This divergence underscored ETH’s stalled momentum relative to Bitcoin and reinforced its sideways trading pattern. Whale accumulation and over-the-counter deals have provided price support; however, retail exits continue to set upper resistance, keeping Ethereum above its realized price of $2,307. As of 15:09 UTC on April 23, 2024, Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,326.35, with a -3.04% change, according to CoinMarketCap.