Retail traders are unloading Ether amid skepticism over its recent rally, leaving large crypto buyers to scoop up the supply, according to sentiment-tracking platform Santiment.
“Despite Ether climbing to higher and higher prices, traders have displayed FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] and disbelief,” Santiment noted in an X post on Tuesday, adding that bearish social media chatter currently outweighs bullish sentiment.
Ether facing “minimal sentiment pushback”
According to Santiment, market prices often move counter to retail traders’ expectations. An excess of bullish sentiment can indicate greed, which has historically preceded steep sell-offs.
“There were notable spikes in extreme greed on June 16, 2025, and July 30, 2025, both of which were followed by price corrections,” the platform noted.
Both pullbacks came after a major downturn earlier this year, when Ether plunged 60% from its January peak to below $2,000 in April, according to CoinMarketCap.
Santiment noted that in the current rally, smaller retail traders are showing heightened fear and selling off their Ether holdings.
“With major players snapping up the coins that small ETH holders are offloading, prices face minimal sentiment resistance to breaking higher and potentially making history soon,” the platform said.
Onchain analytics firm Glassnode reported Monday that short-term Ether holders have been selling more aggressively than long-term holders, suggesting they may be anticipating a price pullback.
Traders expect Ether to climb higher
Ether is trading at $4,622 — up 7.95% in the past 24 hours — and sits about 5.53% below its November 2021 all-time high of $4,878.
While some traders argue the token has topped out, others see more upside ahead. Crypto trader Ted said Ether “is about to break out of its 4-year sideways range, and people are calling for top,” while trader Inmortal predicted it is “escaping the force of gravity” and could hit $10,000.
