Ethereum Price News: ETH Returns to Long-Term Wealth Zone as Arthur Hayes Buys and Whales Move Billions

July 21, 2026

ETH Price News: Vitalik Buterin Unveils Ethereum's Next Major Upgrade Cycle

Ethereum appears to have reached a point that could decide its next major move. Several market signals have started to align at the same time. Technical analysts are watching an important support level, whale activity has climbed to levels not seen in years, and institutional buyers continue to add more ETH through spot ETFs.

Those developments do not guarantee a rally, although they paint an interesting picture. Large investors appear comfortable accumulating Ethereum again. Technical analysts also believe the current ETH price sits inside an area that has delivered strong returns in previous market cycles.

Ali Charts believes Ethereum may be forming a classic double bottom pattern. That pattern often appears after long corrections and can signal that sellers are losing control.

The analyst pointed to $1,850 as the level that deserves the closest attention. Ethereum currently trades close to that price. As long as ETH price remains above this support, Ali Charts believes $2,300 becomes the next upside target.

Crypto Patel reached a similar conclusion through a much broader market cycle analysis.

A look at Crypto Patel’s chart shows Ethereum has entered the same accumulation area that appeared after previous Bitcoin halving events. The chart compares Ethereum’s price action following the 2016, 2020, and current Bitcoin halving cycles. Each previous cycle included a deep correction into a support zone before Ethereum entered a powerful bull market.

The current accumulation zone stretches from roughly $1,200 to $1,800. Ethereum has now returned to that region after falling more than 66% from its latest cycle high.

Crypto Patel argues that patience during these periods has historically rewarded investors. His longer-term cycle targets remain $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000 if Ethereum follows a path similar to previous market cycles.

Historical performance shown on the chart explains why the analyst remains optimistic. Ethereum climbed more than 22,800% after the 2016 accumulation phase. The rally after the 2020 accumulation zone delivered gains above 2,600%. History never guarantees identical results, although the repeated cycle structure explains why analysts continue to monitor this area closely.

What you'll learn 👉

Whale Activity and Ethereum Network Demand Continue to Rise

Technical patterns tell only part of the story. Blockchain data now points toward increased activity from large investors.

Santiment reported that Wrapped Ethereum recorded more than 113,000 whale transactions above $100,000 during the past week. That marks the highest level since May 2021.

🔗 Live Chart: https://t.co/pbKV4qvqTR

🐋 Wrapped Ethereum’s network has logged 113K whale transactions above $100K in the past week, its highest levels since May, 2021. For $WETH, this kind of spike points to serious capital moving through Ethereum’s trading, lending,…
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 20, 2026

The research firm noted that these transfers appear connected to active use across Ethereum’s ecosystem instead of simple wallet storage. Capital continues to move through lending protocols, decentralized exchanges, liquidity pools, and other DeFi applications.

Santiment also pointed to several factors that may help explain the increase in activity:

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs continue to record fresh inflows.
BlackRock’s Ethereum products remain active buyers.
Robinhood Chain uses ETH as its gas token after its July 1 launch.
Corporate Ethereum treasury strategies continue to expand.

Santiment made clear that none of those developments guarantee an immediate rally. Even so, whale activity reaching its highest level in more than 5 years deserves close attention because similar periods often coincide with increased institutional participation.

ETF Inflows and Large Investors Continue to Add More Ethereum

Fresh ETF data also supports the idea that institutional demand remains healthy.

Crypto Patel shared updated U.S. spot crypto ETF flow figures for July 20, 2026. Ethereum ETFs recorded inflows of 20,100 ETH, worth about $38.09 million.

Tom Lee’s Bitmine Immersion Technologies Bought Another 7,430 $ETH Last Week And Now Holds 5,777,468 ETH (~$10.9B)$BMNR Total Holdings:
➤ 5,777,468 Ethereum (~$10.9B)
➤ 4,917,189 ETH Staked (~$9.2B), 85% Of Holdings
➤ 207 BTC
➤ $385M Cash & Marketable Securities
➤ $238M In… https://t.co/a1fhnVM0sq pic.twitter.com/ce0rjln5Gn
— Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) July 20, 2026

BlackRock accounted for most of that activity after purchasing 18,110 ETH, valued at roughly $34.31 million. Fidelity added another 1,490 ETH, and ARK 21Shares purchased 499 ETH.

Total U.S. spot crypto ETF inflows reached approximately $270.68 million during the session. Bitcoin represented the largest share, although Ethereum continued to attract meaningful institutional capital.

Direct whale purchases tell a similar story.

BSC News reported that Arthur Hayes bought another 1,332.5 ETH, worth approximately $2.53 million. Lookonchain data also showed a dormant whale spending $20 million in USDC to purchase 10,501 ETH after remaining inactive for about 3 months.

Another pair of newly created wallets withdrew more than 86,000 ETH from Binance and Gemini before staking the full amount. An Ethereum ICO participant also transferred 2,000 ETH after remaining inactive for 11 years.

Those transactions indicate that several large holders continue to accumulate or reposition Ethereum despite recent market uncertainty.

Bitmine Continues Building One of the Largest Ethereum Treasuries

Corporate accumulation has become another major theme for Ethereum. Crypto Patel reported that Tom Lee’s Bitmine Immersion Technologies purchased another 7,430 ETH last week. That pushed the company’s total holdings to 5,777,468 ETH, worth roughly $10.9 billion.

About 85% of those holdings remain staked. The company expects staking rewards of approximately $290 million each year.

Bitmine now owns roughly 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply. Management continues to pursue its goal of controlling 5% of all ETH in circulation. Current holdings place the company about 257,532 ETH away from that milestone.

The company has also earned support from major investment firms, including ARK, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Founders Fund, DCG, and Bill Miller III. Those partnerships strengthen Bitmine’s position as one of the largest institutional Ethereum holders.

FAQs

How much will 1 Ethereum be worth in 2030?

By the year 2030, Ethereum (ETH) is projected to be worth anywhere from a conservative $2,200 to an ambitious $40,000, with a consensus base-case target floating between $8,000 and $12,000 per token.

Will Ethereum reach $100,000?

Ethereum reaching $100,000 is considered a long-term, multi-decade scenario. It is highly unlikely to happen in the near future, as it would require a market capitalization of approximately $12 trillion—a figure exceeding the value of all gold on earth

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