Here’s Where Ethereum’s Last Line Of Defense Lies, According To On-Chain Data

Source Newsbtc

On-chain data shows Ethereum has broken under all major investor cost basis levels, except for one. Here’s where this price level is currently situated.

Ethereum Has Only Realized Price Of Mega Whales To Rely On Now

In a CryptoQuant Quicktake post, analyst MAC_D has discussed about where the next major support level could lie for Ethereum. The line in question is a version of the Realized Price.

The “Realized Price” is an on-chain indicator that, in short, keeps track of the average cost basis of investors belonging to a given ETH cohort. When this metric is under the spot price, it means the average member of the group is holding coins at a net loss. On the other hand, it being above the asset’s value suggests the cohort as a whole is in a state of net profit.

Investor cost basis is considered an important topic in on-chain analysis, as holders can be more likely to show some kind of move when their profit-loss status is challenged.

Whether investors react by buying or selling can come down to which direction the retest of their acquisition level is occurring from. When it’s from above, holders may decide to accumulate more if the atmosphere is bullish, as they can consider the pullback to be just a ‘dip.’ This provides support to the asset, thus defending their cost basis.

Similarly, investors who were underwater just prior to the retest might believe the surge wouldn’t last and they would fall back into losses again. So, they could make the decision to exit, to at least escape with their entire investment back.

A cost basis level that has shown particular importance for not just Ethereum, but digital assets in general is the Realized Price of the entire network. As the chart shared by the quant shows, this level is currently situated around $2,250 for ETH.

Ethereum Realized Price

From the graph, it’s apparent that the line provided support to Ethereum last year, but it has failed recently as the coin’s price has significantly fallen under it. This means that the average holder on the blockchain is now sitting on a notable loss.

With this major level gone, the Realized Price of the individual cohorts could help point to where the next support could be. Here is a chart displaying the trend in the indicator for investors holding between 100 to 1,000 ETH, 1,000 to 10,000 ETH, 10,000 to 100,000 ETH, and more than 100,000 ETH:

Ethereum Whale Cost Basis

As is visible in the graph, Ethereum has put three of the cohorts underwater with the latest crash. Now, only the largest of holders in the sector, those with over 100,000 ETH in their balance, are still in the green.

Back in the 2022 bear market, ETH found support at the Realized Price of these humongous whales. Thus, it’s possible that this line could once again be of relevance to ETH.

At present, the cohort has its average acquisition level at $1,290, so it will take more bearish action before a retest can take place.

ETH Price

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading around $1,500, down more than 16% in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum Price Chart
Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
My Top 5 Stock Market Predictions for 2026Five 2026 market predictions written in a native, news-style voice: AI’s winners and losers, broader sector leadership, dividend demand, valuation cooling as the Shiller CAPE sits at 39 (Dec. 31, 2025), and quantum-computing bursts—while keeping all original facts and numbers unchanged.
Author  Mitrade
Jan 06, Tue
Five 2026 market predictions written in a native, news-style voice: AI’s winners and losers, broader sector leadership, dividend demand, valuation cooling as the Shiller CAPE sits at 39 (Dec. 31, 2025), and quantum-computing bursts—while keeping all original facts and numbers unchanged.
placeholder
Financial Markets 2026: Volatility Catalysts in Gold, Silver, Oil, and Blue-Chip Stocks—A CFD Trader's OutlookGet a comprehensive financial market 2026 outlook exploring key economic drivers, volatility catalysts in gold, oil and stocks, and what the evolving economic outlook means for cfd trading strategies and risk management on global markets.
Author  Rachel Weiss
May 15, Fri
Get a comprehensive financial market 2026 outlook exploring key economic drivers, volatility catalysts in gold, oil and stocks, and what the evolving economic outlook means for cfd trading strategies and risk management on global markets.
placeholder
Gold Price Forecast: US Treasury Yield Slump Pushes Gold Above $4,500, Will Gold Keep Rising?As of the Asian session on August 20, gold prices (XAUUSD) surged again today after breaking above $4,500 on Wednesday, reaching a nearly two-month high of $4,527.12 before pulling back i
Author  TradingKey
Aug 20, Thu
As of the Asian session on August 20, gold prices (XAUUSD) surged again today after breaking above $4,500 on Wednesday, reaching a nearly two-month high of $4,527.12 before pulling back i
placeholder
Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP bulls accelerate rally amid rising ETF inflowsThe cryptocurrency market remains bullish on Friday, led by Bitcoin’s (BTC) surge above $77,000. Altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), mirror BTC’s positive outlook, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively.
Author  FXStreet
Aug 21, Fri
The cryptocurrency market remains bullish on Friday, led by Bitcoin’s (BTC) surge above $77,000. Altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), mirror BTC’s positive outlook, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively.
placeholder
Iran and Oman push talks for ‘interim’ reopening of Hormuz — BloombergIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi discussed an “interim framework” aimed at resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Author  FXStreet
Yesterday 01: 55
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi discussed an “interim framework” aimed at resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
goTop
quote