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Bitcoin’s decisive break above the psychological $95,000 barrier has reignited bullish momentum across the crypto market. As market sentiment becomes increasingly positive, crypto whales are buying several differentiating altcoins this week.
Among the top picks are Avalanche (AVAX), Ethereum (ETH), and meme-coin Pepe (PEPE), all of which have seen significant whale inflows this week.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Layer-1 (L1) coin AVAX has seen increased whale attention this week, reflected by the spike in its large holders’ netflow. According to IntoTheBlock, this has rocketed over 380% in the past seven days.
A large holder is a wallet address holding over 0.1% of an asset’s circulating supply. The large holders’ netflow tracks these investors’ buying and selling activity.
When it rises, crypto whales buy more tokens. This bullish signal often prompts retail investors to increase their holdings.
If AVAX’s accumulation trend persists, its price could breach the resistance at $24.28 and rally toward $30.23.
Conversely, if demand wanes, AVAX could fall to $14.66.
Ethereum (ETH)
Amid the recent broader market rally, ETH has recorded a modest 3% price uptick in the past seven days, buoyed by steady whale accumulation.
According to Santiment, during that period, whale addresses holding between 10,000 and 100,000 coins have acquired 280,000 ETH valued at over $510 million at current market prices.
As of this writing, this cohort of ETH whales controls 25.24 million ETH, their highest holding in the past month. ETH’s price could be driven above the psychological $2,000 mark if whale accumulation persists.
However, if the bears regain dominance, they could push the coin’s price to $1,733.
Pepe (PEPE)
Popular meme coin PEPE is another asset that has seen a surge in crypto whale accumulation this week. Per Santiment, wallet addresses that hold between 100,000 and 1 million tokens have bought 350 million PEPE in the past seven days.
At press time, the meme coin trades at $0.0000086. If whale accumulation persists, PEPE could reverse its current downtrend and break above the resistance at $0.0000010.
As Solana continues its ascent, experts are not writing off Ethereum’s chances to compete favorably in decentralized finance (DeFi). Uniswap founder Hayden Adams wants Ethereum to hone in on Layer 2 scaling to even the odds with Solana.
Uniswap Founder Wants Ethereum To Continue Horizontal Scaling
The calls for Ethereum to focus on Layer 2 scaling are growing louder, with Uniswap founder Hayden Adams joining the train. The Uniswap founder disclosed his stance in an X post, calling for Ethereum to continue its Layer 2 scaling development.
Adams notes that Layer 2 solutions remain Ethereum’s best chance to keep its skin in the DeFi game amid rising competition from Solana. He notes that Solana is better suited to do DeFi on its layer 1, given its roadmap and overall approach compared to Ethereum.
Ethereum, aware of the challenges of its Layer 1, has pivoted to an L2-focused roadmap since 2020. However, a broad ecosystem focus for Layer 2 scaling solutions has left the base layer without major updates for a while, whipping up conversations for a change in approach.
Despite the push for a return to a Layer 1-focused approach, the Uniswap founder wants Ethereum to continue on its existing roadmap. He took swipes at community members pushing for a change in strategy every month, urging them to “pick a lane” and mitigate the attendant risks.
“Ethereum has been working towards an L2-centric/horizontal scaling roadmap for 5+ years,” said Adams. “You want to throw this away at the final stretch because of what reason?”
Ethereum and Solana are going neck and neck with each other with a Coingape analysis weighing whether ETH price will hit $3 before SOL clinches $200.
A Layer 1-centric Approach Is Still Acceptable
The Uniswap founder disclosed in the post that he remains open to the possibility of a pivot to a Layer 1-centric approach. However, the approach has to be explicit and realistic, with Adams recommending key network changes.
“I’m fine with L1-centric scaling approach if it’s explicit and approached realistically,” said the Uniswap founder. “We would have to drop a ton of philosophical stuff like any laptop can run a node.”
He adds that Uniswap’s largest market share comes from Layer 1, making a pivot still a win for his project. However, the approach inflames centralization risks affecting the ability of individuals to run full nodes.
Amid the raging conversations for scaling direction, Ethereum is facing its worst quarterly price performance in nearly a decade. ETH targets a $1600 breakout as prices continue to wallow under $2,000 since slipping below the psychological level.
Tron founder Justin Sun says he is not selling his ETH holdings despite falling prices, pledging to collaborate with Ethereum developers to trigger ecosystem growth.
Bitcoin may face three potential trend scenarios in the future, with the most optimistic one forecasting a surge to $150,000 to $175,000 within the next 12 months.
This prediction is supported by factors such as a strong influx of institutional capital and positive investor sentiment following the Trump administration’s plans to establish a national Bitcoin reserve.
Positive Forecasts from Experts and Market Signals
The Bitcoin Composite Index currently stands at ≈ 0.8 (80%). Based on this indicator, AxelAdlerJr outlined three possible scenarios.
In the most optimistic scenario, BTC’s price could reach $150,000 to $175,000, following the cyclical logic of 2017 and 2021. This would occur if the Bitcoin Composite Index surpasses 1.0 and remains above that level.
If the ratio stays within the 0.8–1.0 range, the market would likely consolidate in a broad corridor between $90,000 and $110,000, indicating that participants are maintaining positions without increasing exposure.
Alternatively, if the ratio drops to 0.75 or below, short-term holders may start taking profits, potentially leading to a price correction to $70,000–$85,000. However, AxelAdlerJr notes that this scenario is less likely than the other two.
The return of YoY True MVRV to positive territory means that the average purchase price of all coins acquired over the past year is now below the current market price. The pressure from panic sellers is decreasing – many are now in profit and don’t need to lock in losses. Holder… pic.twitter.com/6AgvVVTn9h
On-chain signals further bolster the bullish outlook. According to Coinglass, over the past 7 days, approximately 42,525.89 Bitcoins were withdrawn from centralized exchanges (CEX), reducing the supply on exchanges to a 7-year low of about 2.48 million BTC.
The trend of Bitcoin withdrawals from exchanges is often seen as a positive sign, as it indicates investor accumulation and reduced selling pressure, paving the way for price growth.
Bitcoin’s 7-day volatility has also hit its lowest level in 563 days. Low volatility typically signals a period of accumulation before a price breakout, as observed during past major rallies, such as in 2020 before Bitcoin peaked at $69,000.
Technical analysis also supports Bitcoin’s bullish scenario. According to a post on X by Ali, Bitcoin’s key support levels are at $93,198 and $83,444, indicating strong consolidation above these thresholds.
If Bitcoin sustains above $93,198, the likelihood of continuing its upward trend to reach the $150,000 target becomes highly feasible.
“The most critical support levels for #Bitcoin $BTC are $93,198 and $83,444. Key zones to watch if momentum shifts,” Ali shared.
Moreover, Breedlove22, a well-known analyst, shared on X about three indicators signaling optimism for Bitcoin. The first is the Average Miner Cost of Production. According to Breedlove22, this metric is at a bottom, suggesting a significant bull market may be on the horizon.
Average Miner Cost of Production. Source: Breedlove22
The second indicator is the supply held by long-term holders, which measures Bitcoin unmoved on-chain for at least 155 days. Breedlove22 noted that over the past 30 days, long-term holders have acquired an additional ~150,000 BTC.
“Bitcoin is running out of sellers in the $80,000 to $100,000 range,” Breedlove22 stated.
Lastly, and most importantly, is USD liquidity, which effectively represents the “demand” side of the equation. More dollars in the system mean more potential bidders.
“And it’s not just USD liquidity that’s increasing – liquidity of all fiat currencies is on the rise, and Bitcoin is a global asset,” Breedlove22 added.
Echoing Breedlove22’s perspective, another X user shared that BTC’s valuation based on hash rate is at a support level, suggesting that a local bottom may have been reached.
In the optimistic scenario, Bitcoin is poised for a significant opportunity to reach $150,000 to $175,000. However, investors should also prepare for risks such as short-term price corrections.
With strong support levels at $93,198 and $83,444, Bitcoin has a solid foundation for continued growth, but caution remains essential.