Ethereum Price Sits on Five Year Support as Whale Losses Turn Negative

Ethereum traded near $1,986 as traders focused on a long running support band that has framed price action since 2020. A TradingView chart created by StoicTraderXBT on March 1 showed $ETH sliding back toward the lower edge of a rising “macro range” zone, with the latest candles testing the same area that previously acted as a floor after major selloffs.

Macro range lows become the level to watch

In a post on X, Columbus said Ethereum remains in a “five year accumulation phase” as long as the macro range lows hold, and he argued that a break below that band would carry more weight than recent volatility. He added that the current zone is where bulls “have to show up,” framing the area as a make or break support.

Ethereum Macro Range Lows. Source: StoicTraderXBT

The chart’s shaded diagonal band tracks a gradual uptrend through multiple cycles, including the 2021 peak, the 2022 drawdown, and the 2024–2025 swings. $ETH’s current position places price near the top of that band rather than far above it, which keeps the market anchored to a single technical question: whether the long term trend support holds on a daily closing basis.

If $ETH continues to respect the rising range, the structure keeps Ethereum inside the same multi year base that has contained price since the 2022 lows. If it fails, traders will likely treat the move as a regime shift because it would mark a clean break of the five year support guide that has repeatedly caught declines.

$ETH whale unrealized losses deepen as price hovers near $2,000

Onchain data shows several large Ethereum holder groups moving into unrealized losses as $ETH trades near the $2,000 level. A CryptoQuant chart shared by James Easton tracks the $ETH Whales Unrealized Profit Ratio across wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 $ETH, 10,000 to 100,000 $ETH, and more than 100,000 $ETH. The latest readings place multiple cohorts slightly below the zero line, meaning their average cost basis now sits above market price.

$ETH Whales Unrealized Profit Ratio. Source: CryptoQuant

The chart plots Ethereum’s price in black while colored bands represent profit ratios by balance size. When the metric falls under zero, it signals that those holders are, on average, underwater. Recent data shows the 1k to 10k $ETH group dipping negative, while larger whale categories also hover near or below breakeven. The move follows a pullback from prior highs and reflects pressure across higher balance wallets.

Similar patterns appeared during earlier cycle downturns, including the 2018–2019 decline and parts of 2022, when whale profit ratios compressed before price either stabilized or reversed. However, the current drawdown remains more moderate than previous cycle extremes. James Easton wrote that “whales are holding unrealised losses” and added that the condition “will not last long,” highlighting the recent shift in positioning among large Ethereum holders.