ETH whales accumulate around $2,800 as liquid staking and leveraged long positions expand

As ETH dropped below $3,000 and moved into the $2,800 range, whales stepped up accumulation and redirected part of their holdings into liquid staking. A major wallet rotated funds from WBTC into more than 22,000 ETH, while an OG whale that previously shorted the market is now running a large, loan-backed long strategy via Aave and Hyperliquid. Despite unrealized losses and a recent downturn, open interest in ETH is rising and large holders remain active in DeFi.