- IntoTheBlock analyst Juan Pellicer has reviewed the distribution of Ethereum between long-term and short-term holders
- in his latest piece for CoinMarketCap, the analyst also assessed the impact of the distribution in the market
In an analysis post centred around 'Who has been buying the last dump,' research analyst Juan Pellicer noted that the long-term holders have chiefly taken the accretion path even as distribution from fat-cat holders continues.
Analysis based on the 'Balance by Time Held' metric
As per the data presented by the analyst, Ether hodlers collectively have 52.39 million ETH in their wallets thus far. This group (investors who have held ETH for over 12 months) has the biggest Ethereum balance and accounts for 44.51% of Ethereum holders.
It is followed by Ether cruisers (those that have had their holdings for 1 to 12 months), who make up 40.69% of the total Ethereum holders. This group has accumulated 47.89 million ETH in the same period.
Traders, who have held their balances for less than a month, represent the smallest group. Commonly associated with speculative trading, this group constitutes 14.80% of the total number of Ethereum addresses.
ETH Balance by Time Held Chart. Source: IntoTheBlock
Pellicer also observed that Ethereum hodlers have increased by 8.20% over the last 30 days. He explained the trend, attributing it to the decrease in cruisers. This is supported by the fact that the representation of Ethereum cruisers has shrunk 8.14% within this period.
Analysis based on 'Balance by Holdings' metric
The research analyst further assessed the purchasing power of Ethereum holders. The groups of holders between 0 and 100 ETH (indicated in green on the far left) have all grown their balances over the last month. Particularly, holders with 0.1 to 1 ETH have seen the most significant increase in Ether balance at 5.13%.
Two 'whale' groups have also curved a similar path, with those holding more than 1 million ETH seeing a balance increase of 0.97% over the past 30 days. Ethereum investors with between 10k and 100k ETH have also been accumulating. This accretion has left the group between 100k and 1 million ETH with a reduced balance.
ETH Balance by Time Held Chart. Source: IntoTheBlock
Ethereum is following a path set by Bitcoin
Pellicer concluded that the majority of Ethereum holders with large balances are trimming down in distribution phases.
"The decentralisation from large holders towards smaller holders is happening […] repeating Bitcoin's steps."
The analyst argued that this favours the market because a more distributed supply means less market dependence on whale movement.
Market data shows that the bulk of ETH supply is held by wallets with large balances at present.
ETH Ownership Chart. Source: IntoTheBlock
The holders with over 10k ETH collectively account for 69.06% of the total ETH supply, as can be deduced. Pellicer, however, expects this concentration to reduce over time as new investors enter the market.