Ethereum Whales Shake the Market

The Ethereum (ETH) market saw wild price swings yesterday, fueling speculation of price manipulation by large holders—often referred to as “whales.” One Ethereum co-founder suggested that these influential players deliberately pushed ETH’s price downward, capitalizing on investor panic before a sharp recovery.

Massive Price Swings Shake Traders

On Monday, February 4, Ethereum’s price plummeted from $2,900 to as low as $2,120, only to rebound aggressively. Despite the chaos, ETH ended the day with a 26% green wick, an unusual bounce-back within such a short timeframe.

Market analysts pointed to macroeconomic turbulence as a major catalyst. The U.S. administration, under President Donald Trump, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada early in the day. However, a later agreement between the nations spurred optimism, triggering a recovery across global financial and crypto markets.

The abrupt movement sparked intense debate on X (formerly Twitter), where one observer, @intern, declared, “ETH is dying right in front of us. Honestly never thought this would happen.”

Whales at Play? Lubin Weighs In

Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin dismissed doomsday predictions, suggesting that whales were orchestrating the chaos. “It happens regularly. Then it surges. What we are seeing is whales taking advantage of economic turmoil and negative sentiment to shake out weak hands, run stops, and then buy back when they can run that same playbook in reverse,” Lubin stated.

This perspective suggests that large-scale investors manipulate market psychology—engineering panic-selling before re-accumulating assets at a discount.

Spoofing Accusations Surface

The idea of whale-led manipulation gained further traction when renowned trader Hsaka (@HsakaTrades) cautioned new traders against assuming ETH’s plunge was entirely organic. “Ethereum is NOT naturally going down. It is being pushed down via whales placing spoofy sell orders on exchanges to make noobs and risk managers sell to ‘buy back lower,’” he warned.

This aligns with long-standing concerns about “spoofing”, a tactic where large, fake sell orders create the illusion of heavy selling pressure—only to be canceled or filled at a fraction of the intended amount. The goal? To induce panic and buy back at lower prices.

Ethereum’s Long-Term Underperformance

Another influential trader, Pentoshi (@Pentosh1), took a broader view, pointing out Ethereum’s underperformance relative to Bitcoin over the last three years: “Three-year shakeout so far. Hope you’re right.”

Meanwhile, an Ethereum community member, @EVMaverick392, questioned why whales seemed to target ETH more than other assets.

Lubin responded with an old-school analogy: “Why do bank robbers rob banks? The (unjustified) FUD toward the Ethereum ecosystem is currently most pronounced.”

This highlights the growing skepticism surrounding Ethereum’s network development, Layer 2 congestion, and delays in major upgrades—factors that have given whales a perfect storm to exploit.

Final Thoughts

Ethereum’s latest price rollercoaster has reignited concerns about market manipulation. While macro events played a role, whale-driven strategies may have amplified the sell-off. Lubin’s assurance hints at a cyclical recovery, but whether ETH can outperform BTC and break free from this pattern remains an open question.