Ethereum Experiences a Notable Shift in Derivatives Positioning as Highly Leveraged Long Positions Drop Sharply Around the World market. The reduction suggests that many overly aggressive bullish trades have closed voluntarily or been forced out by recent liquidation events.
Could Ethereum Be Preparing for a Short Squeeze?
Crypto investor and data analyst known as CW on X pointed out that Ethereum is going through a significant deleveraging phase as highly leveraged long positions in the market continue to decline significantly. At the same time, short positions have increased slightly, indicating that the market is not yet very busy on the bearish side.
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The total amount of exposure to high debt stays relatively low, indicating that systemic risk is lower than in previous phases. Moreover, most of the greedy long positions have already been liquidated, with the next focus now shifting to the liquidation of short positions.
Amid this market phase, Ethereum whales are exhibiting behavior not seen in over a year, potentially signaling a major shift in market dynamics. An analyst known as Ali Charts did just that revealed that portfolios holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH have undergone a significant regime change in their market behavior since October 6, 2025.
Before this shift, this cohort was in a stable accumulation regime. Between April and October 6, 2025, their holdings increased from approximately 12.95 million ETH to almost 15.95 million ETH. million ETH. However, that trend has now sharply reversed.
Since October 6, ownership of these mid-range whales has dropped from 15.95 million ETH to roughly 12.52 million ETH, representing a 21.5% share. reject in their overall position.
With a significant amount of supply entering the market through whale distribution, any sustained move towards the $3,000 level may now depend on a new wave of institutional or private demand able to meet that selling pressure.
Ethereum relative weakness versus Bitcoin
Ethereum continues to show signs of weakness against Bitcoin, with recent market action reinforcing a more fragile short-term structure. Crypto trader KriptoHolder also has that noted that selling pressure on ETH has increased, pushing the price action lower towards the $2,273 region.
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At the same time, retail traders remain heavily oriented to the long side, with around 73.19% positioned bullishly, while short positions sit around 26.80%, reflecting a busy trade that often becomes vulnerable during recessions. However, the Whales vs. Retail Delta is currently at -22.01, showing that the whale side continues to exert significant selling pressure.
According to KriptoHolder, ETH should likely see two major shifts: a reduction in aggressive whale selling and the return of meaningful buying in the spot market. supportbefore a stronger upward recovery becomes possible. For now, ETH appears to be stuck in a more vulnerable position, with internal market elements showing less resilience than BTC.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com