Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, appears to be drawing strong interest from whales and institutions once again, with nearly 3,877 ETH accumulated in just a few hours, worth nearly $9.4 million.

According to Lookonchain, SharpLink Gaming, which recently reported a purchase of 188,478 ETH (worth $473.6 million) at an average price of $2,513, has now added another 1,989 ETH (valued at $4.82 million) to its holdings in an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction.

In the meantime, another Ethereum whale identified as wallet “0x1fc7” has maintained a continuous buying spree. After buying and staking 3,201 ETH ($8.1 million) last week, the same entity has now acquired a further 1,888 ETH ($4.56 million) to stake.

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At the time of writing, ETH was relatively unchanged at $2,428, after trading in a range for the previous four days.

This jump in whale activity could signal the start of a bullish shift, especially if it is followed by rising demand from institutional investors and DeFi players.

According to Sentora (previously IntoTheBlock), Ethereum network fees rose 130.4% this week, owing to increased institutional DeFi demand and smart-contract usage. Network fees refer to the sum of total fees spent to use a particular blockchain, reflecting demand.

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Exchange netflows, which refer to the net amount of inflows minus outflows of a certain crypto-asset entering and exiting centralized exchanges, came in at a negative $293 million, reflecting sustained buying pressure and precautionary withdrawals amid market volatility concerns.

Late last week, Ethereum quietly surpassed a psychological threshold: 35 million ETH are now locked in staking contracts, accounting for about 28.3% of the total supply. That is an eight-figure sum worth about $84 billion at current rates, and it is the biggest share ever recorded.