140,000 ETH Withdrawn from Exchanges; Price Direction Unclear

Approximately 140,000 Ethereum (ETH) tokens have been withdrawn from exchanges over the past 96 hours, valued at around $350 million (approximately 47.25 billion KRW). However, it remains unclear whether the withdrawn amount is being held long-term or staked. AMBCrypto reported this on May 16 at 2 a.m. (KST), citing Santiment data showing that exchange-held Ethereum has dropped to 6.06 million tokens, significantly lower than the June 2020 peak of 22.9 million tokens. Glassnode indicates that exchange-held ETH represents approximately 12.786% of the total supply, though this percentage may change if address labels are updated.

While a decrease in exchange reserves could imply reduced sell pressure, it is impossible to determine from withdrawal data alone whether funds moved to personal wallets, staking, or other exchanges. The relationship between decreased exchange balances and price increases has not been confirmed. Additionally, Bitmain (BMNR) reported acquiring an additional 27,180 ETH over the past week, bringing its total holdings to 5,956,378 tokens, with 5,067,309 staked. However, this represents a single company's asset management and does not indicate broader market trends.

Exchange reserves are calculated based on wallet addresses managed by exchanges, but changes in address labeling or cross-exchange transfers can alter the figures. While Bitmain's purchases demonstrate corporate demand for ETH, combining this with exchange withdrawals to assess overall market demand requires additional data on wallet movements and trading activity. Market participants may interpret reduced exchange balances and increased staking as supply-side shifts, but ETH price direction is influenced by multiple factors including spot demand, derivatives positions, and liquidity.