Ethereum exchange reserves have decreased to their lowest levels since 2016, which has sparked optimism for a supply-driven recovery, even amid the ongoing market weakness. According to insights, the total ETH exchange reserves decreased to approximately 14.5 million ETH on November 2. This decline reportedly marked a 58.6% reduction from the 2020 peak of 35 million ETH. Over that period, the exchanges have indeed experienced a reduction of approximately 20.5 million ETH from their total balances. Notably, Binance registered a similar drop, with reserves falling 37.1% from their 2025 peak of 4.9 million ETH, with its holdings reaching 3.08 million ETH, revisiting levels last seen in late 2020. It is also worth noting that the reserve drop coincided with reports of Binance’s October 29 hack, which allegedly resulted in substantial losses.
For context, these security concerns may have prompted investors to shift their holdings into self-custody wallets, rather than necessarily signalling a stronger accumulation or renewed buying demand. Institutional accumulation has also strengthened despite the token’s recent struggles, with Tom Lee’s Bitmine expanding its ETH holdings. Lookonchain recently reported on X that Bitmine purchased another 5,000 ETH valued roughly $11.22 million, bringing the total acquisition to 6.065 million ETH, worth nearly $13.7 billion. The institution now controls approximately 4.96% of Ethereum’s total supply, thereby reinforcing its substantial exposure to the asset. Meanwhile, analytics indicated that Ethereum’s Spot netflows continued to be negative, recording approximately $7.91 million in net outflows at the time of reporting.
Bitmine’s ongoing acquisitions, coupled with the adverse Spot netflows, underscored the diminishing immediate selling pressure scenario. Traders on the derivatives market also showed renewed optimism despite Ethereum’s recent market weakness. In particular, ETH’s OI-Weighted Funding Rate had recovered to 0.0101% at press time, returning to positive territory after an earlier brief negative reading. This recovery indicated that long traders were compensating shorts, which signified new demand for bullish leveraged positions. Besides, Binance’s top trader Long/Short Ratio revealed a considerable preference for long positions, with the long accounts representing 70.2% of top traders, compared to 29.8% holding short positions. These readings collectively indicated that market participants were growing more optimistic about a potential price recovery, even in the context of the ongoing downward trend.
Ethereum’s defense of the $2,243 support level validated the hopes of a price rebound despite the prevailing bearish market outlook. Following the defense, Ethereum’s market value sat at $2,254 as of writing time, positioning itself around the middle of its descending channel. More importantly, the RSI indicator stood at 33.23, nearing oversold conditions and suggesting the potential for selling exhaustion. The Money Flow Index meanwhile reached 37.18, highlighting relatively weak capital inflows despite the successful defense of the support level. Overall, Ethereum’s declining exchange reserves, Bitmine accumulation, and bullish derivatives positioning supported the potential for a rebound. A continued buying above $2,243 could strengthen that outlook, while reclaiming the $2,385 resistance would provide stronger confirmation of a sustained recovery.
