Ethereum Holds Despite Aztec Exit as Bulls Eye Higher Ground

Ethereum made a triumphant return to late-January price levels, touching a three-month high of $2466 before taking a brief breather. At press time, ETH hovered at $2404, up 2.96% on the day and stacking an impressive 7% weekly gain. Naturally, when prices tick upward, the whales and institutions start doing what they do best—profiteering. Aztec Network has been on a systematic selling spree, dumping its Ethereum bags over the past quarter like someone clearing out a storage unit before moving. In December 2025, the Aztec squad unloaded 1.5 billion AZTEC tokens for 19,388.4 ETH, approximately $59.13 million. Of this stash, 4,235 ETH ($12.93 million) went straight into the liquidity pool, while the remaining 15,154 ETH ($47.25 million) got fully liquidated over three months. Lookonchain flagged the final transaction, where the team peddled 5,020 ETH worth $12.33 million—making a graceful exit from their ETH holdings. The strategic sell-off appears designed to capitalize on gains while keeping the liquidity pool adequately fed, because apparently even privacy protocols need operating capital.

Speaking of large holders with itchy trigger fingers, other whales joined the selling party this week. According to Lookonchain, a wallet associated with crypto O.G. Arthur Hayes deposited another 3,000 ETH worth $7.26 million into Binance. When you combine Aztec's garage sale with Hayes' deposit, that's 8,020 ETH worth $19.59 million hitting exchanges. Historically, when big players start distributing, market structure tends to suffer and prices follow gravity downward. But here's the plot twist—ETH demand has stubbornly refused to crumble, with the ongoing uptrend coaxing buyers to defend increasingly higher price territories.

Exchange metrics tell a similar story of hodlers refusing to let go. On April 17th, over 1.1 million ETH streamed out of exchanges while only 956k ETH trickled in. Net Exchange Flow consequently tanked to a monthly low of -160k ETH. This withdrawal trend continued at press time, with Netflow sliding to -28.5k ETH. Negative Netflow means tokens are fleeing exchanges faster than they arrive—the classic diamond hands scenario. The Exchange Supply Ratio corroborated this supply tightening, plummeting to 0.125 and loitering near monthly lows. Such metrics typically suggest most traders are accumulating rather than selling, and historically, dwindling exchange deposits constrict supply, providing bullish fuel for upside moves—often heralding higher prices ahead.

Despite the pullback from recent highs, the market's bones remain structurally sound. Altcoin momentum flipped bullish two weeks ago and has stayed positive since—like that friend who finally commits to the gym. Simultaneously, the Directional Movement Index's positive reading climbed to 27 while the negative index sank to 11. When these indicators align in such fashion, they telegraph trend strength and suggest the current trajectory has legs. If market structure holds and demand persists, ETH could oscillate between $2.4k and $2.8k. However, if large entities persist in their liquidation agenda, ETH might revisit the $2170 neighborhood—because crypto markets have an uncanny ability to test your conviction right when you least expect it.