In the early morning, an eye-catching on-chain transfer occurred — an old player who has held Ethereum for over 7 years transferred 18,000 ETH to a leading exchange, which is approximately 55 million USD based on the price at that time. What’s even more intriguing is that this address still holds 66,252 ETH, with unrealized gains exceeding 270 million USD.

Checking the historical records of this Address, the cost price is locked around 517 USD, belonging to the batch of old miners or early believers from 2017. The average price for the current batch of shipments is around 1694 USD, clearly indicating a reduction in position at a high level. Interestingly, he has only moved less than a quarter of his position, with the remaining large portion remaining unchanged. This type of operation usually has two possibilities: either it is a phased cash-out to recover funds, or it is a deliberate attempt to create selling pressure to test the market's absorption capacity.

From a technical perspective, ETH is currently fluctuating around $3017. The hourly MACD is converging above the zero line, with momentum waning but not completely turning bearish. The key resistance level is at $3242, a position that has been contested repeatedly over the past week; once stabilized, it may accelerate the approach to the previous high congestion area around $3409. The support below is relatively clear, with $2873 being the intersection point of multiple moving averages and also the edge of the previous consolidation platform, making a breakout unlikely.

Speaking of the whale's operation, it will indeed bring selling pressure expectations to the market in the short term. However, looking at it over a longer timeframe, the fact that he retains over 75% of his position is a signal in itself—true panic selling won't be so indecisive. Of course, this does not constitute any trading advice; the market is always more complex than analysis.