Whales and corporates continue to expand their Ether holdings as the price eyes a close above the critical $4,300 level.
Ethereum ETH $3 028 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $365.56 B Vol. 24h: $10.11 B is steadily moving toward the critical $4,300 level, after recording a 2.2% daily gain on September 30. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency is currently trading around $4,190, wrapping up the third quarter with a 68% return.
Recall Ethereum’s performance in 2020, when a similar strong Q3 close led to a 104% surge in Q4.
Ether quarterly returns | Source: CoinGlass
If a similar pattern plays out, ETH could climb past $8,000 before the end of the year, aligning with the bullish forecasts from several market bulls.
Notably, Ether saw a price dip to $3,850 on Sept. 25, but quickly rebounded. Analysts note that funding rates stayed negative through last week, a signal often linked with market bottoms.
Ethereum Funding Rates on all exchanges | Source: CryptoQuant
According to a CryptoQuant strategist, the funding rates are now turning positive, indicating that a breakout is near.
Whale Accumulation Signals Confidence
Large investors and institutions continue to accumulate ETH, making it one of the best crypto to buy right now. LookOnChain revealed that on September 30, a newly created wallet, likely linked to BitMine, acquired 25,369 ETH worth roughly $106.7 million.
BitMine had just announced that its total Ethereum treasury surpassed 2.65 million tokens.
Whales keep buying $ETH!
Newly created wallet 0x93c2(likely belonging to #Bitmine) received 25,369 $ETH($106.74M) from #FalconX 3 hours ago.
Newly created wallet 0x6F9b withdrew 4,985 $ETH($21M) from #OKX 4 hours ago.https://t.co/cCrHJGaEzQhttps://t.co/t3kROevRif pic.twitter.com/lISeoRGXfm
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 30, 2025
Data confirms that another new wallet withdrew 4,985 ETH, valued at around $21 million, from exchange OKX on the same day.
These accumulations suggest that smart investors could be preparing for a possible price surge.
Moreover, digital asset firm Bit Digital recently announced plans to raise $100 million through a convertible senior note offering. Net proceeds are primarily for Ether purchases, alongside broader business investments in crypto space.
Bit Digital Announces Proposed Offering of $100 Million Convertible Notes@BitDigital_BTBT today announced a proposed registered underwritten public offering by the Company of $100,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2030, subject to market and…
— Bit Digital, Inc. NASDAQ:BTBT (@BitDigital_BTBT) September 29, 2025
Popular market analyst Donald Dean set a near-term price target of $5,766. He pointed to $4,300 as a critical “volume shelf,” a potential launch point for further upward movement.
$ETH $ETHUSD Ethereum – Moving Up, Support Found
Price Target: $5766
ETH is moving toward the volume shelf at $4300, a potential launch area. Crypto momentum is increasing.
The next target is at the 50% retracement ETH/BTC ratio.$ETHA $ETHE pic.twitter.com/92eZHCC4ew
— Donald Dean (@donaldjdean) September 29, 2025
If bullish momentum persists, Ethereum may soon test this level, leading to a stronger finish to 2025.
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