Ethereum Heads for Worst October Since 2018 as Early Whales Wake Up

Ethereum (ETH) is losing support from new money and old money at the same time this October. US spot ETFs have shed about $1.35 billion, while wallets dormant for years moved over $140 million in ETH.

The price has dropped 13.6% this month so far. That puts Ethereum on course for its weakest October since 2018.

Wallets From Ethereum’s First Days Start Moving Again

On-chain analytics platforms flagged over 10 large transfers from long-idle wallets between October 5 and 29. Together, they moved about 56,000 ETH.

Four of the 5 largest went straight to Coinbase or Kraken.

The largest came on October 5, when one wallet sent 13,330 ETH, about $36.37 million, to Coinbase. Its owner reportedly bought 170,000 ETH in the 2015 ICO at $0.31.

Three days later, Lookonchain reported that pinosaur.eth unstaked 9,618 ETH and deposited it to Kraken. Separately, wallets reportedly linked to the Ethereum Foundation moved about 14,770 ETH on 3 separate days.

The latest move came on October 29. A wallet idle for 3 years sent its full 2,119 ETH balance to Coinbase.

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Many Ethereum OGs are waking up and dumping $ETH!After 3 years of inactivity, an Ethereum OG wallet (0x6D30) deposited all 2,119 $ETH ($4.99M) into #Coinbase 7 hours ago.https://t.co/qPlh5BQbHj pic.twitter.com/TNR2xmTZ7k

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 29, 2026

An exchange deposit leaves coins ready to sell, though on-chain data cannot show whether a sale followed. 

ETF Money Kept Walking Out of Ethereum All October

The whale transfers landed while ETF investors were also pulling back. US spot Ethereum ETFs posted net outflows on 17 of October’s 20 trading days through October 28, per SoSoValue.

The month’s total reached about $1.35 billion, the second-largest monthly outflow on record. Only November 2025 saw more, at $1.42 billion.

That leaves October about $78 million short of the record, with 2 trading days left. The heaviest single day came on October 6, when $201.89 million left the funds. 

ETH traded at $2,328.57 at press time, down 0.95% over 24 hours, per BeInCrypto Markets. The asset closed 7 of its previous 11 Octobers higher, per CryptoRank. Its last deeper October drop came in 2018, at 15.5%.

The Levels Ethereum Needs to Hold Into November

With fund money leaving and old coins reaching exchanges, analysts have turned to support levels. Ted Pillows expects one more drop.

$ETH looks like it wants to dump more.No strong buying, and every support zone is getting lost.IMO, Ethereum could revisit the $2,200 level soon, which will most likely be the bottom zone. pic.twitter.com/dyEc0RjQUT

— Ted (@TedPillows) October 27, 2026

He added that reclaiming $2,400 would be the first major sign of strength. More Crypto Online expects another leg down while ETH stays below $2,522. A break under $2,295 would be the first sign, with support from $2,207 to $1,725.

ETH fell in 6 of 11 Novembers, with a median loss of 5.18%, per CryptoRank. However, the November average reads +4.28%.

Traders will likely watch whether ETF outflows slow and whether ETH holds above $2,295.

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