On-Chain Analysis
On-chain analysis is the practice of reading publicly available blockchain data to infer market participant behaviour and generate trading or investment signals. Because all blockchain transactions are publicly recorded and verifiable, on-chain data provides ground truth about holder activity that traditional market data (price, volume) does not.
Key Metrics
- Unrealized P&L by cohort — are holders of a given wallet size currently in profit or loss?
- Whale flows — large wallet deposits to/withdrawals from exchanges signal potential selling/accumulation
- MVRV ratio — market value vs. realised value; indicates whether the market is overextended
- Exchange inflows/outflows — rising exchange inflows signal potential selling pressure
- Active addresses — a proxy for network usage and adoption
Whale Cohort Analysis
In CryptoQuant (2026), analysts tracked the >100,000 ETH wallet cohort — wallets large enough that their decisions influence rather than merely reflect the market. When this cohort crossed from unrealized loss back to profit, it has historically preceded every subsequent ETH rally.
The logic: underwater large holders face selling incentives (to prevent deepening losses); profitable large holders have no urgency to sell, removing overhead supply pressure.
Primary Platforms
- cryptoquant — institutional-grade on-chain data; used in the 2026 Ethereum whale analysis
- Glassnode, Nansen, Santiment — other major providers
See Also
ethereum | bitcoin | blockchain | technical-analysis-crypto