The ongoing market fluctuation may have caused a shift in Ethereum investors’ interest, as evidenced by a major ETH whale that has recently gone on a rapid selling spree. This has triggered market attention and speculations about the crypto asset’s potential in the near term.
Major Ethereum Whales Dumps Millions Of ETH
In a series of large transactions, an early Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) participant was seen conducting a massive sale of ETH, unloading thousands of the altcoin in the past day. Leading on-chain data platform, Lookonchain reported the worrying development on the X (formerly Twitter) platform after spotting the wave of huge transactions.
This massive sell-off from a major player has sparked questions about the motive behind it, which could cause uncertainty around the price trajectory of the crypto asset since it coincides with the heightened volatility around ETH lately.
According to data from the platform, the ICO participant recently transferred about 5,000 ETH, valued at over $12.14 million, to the San Fransisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken a few hours ago. Additionally, the huge transaction comes about seven hours later after the whale previously sent another 5,000 ETH to the same exchange, which was worth $12.22 million at the time of sale.
It is important to note that the ICO participant has been carrying out significant Ethereum sales in September. Last week, the whale was cited by Lookonchain executing a sell-off of 19,000 ETH at $47.54 million in the period of 2 days.
Prior to the large transactions last week, the whale in a series of transactions offloaded about 12,010 ETH, worth around $31.6 million at the time to the Kraken exchange within 4 days, drawing quite the attention within the crypto community.
Specifically, the ICO participant embarked on a rapid sale spree of ETH after being dormant for more than 2 years, highlighting the importance of patience in the ever-evolving world of digital assets.
Furthermore, the whale initially received 150,000 ETH during the ICO, which was valued at $46,500, fast forward to today, the stash is worth $394 million. Thus far, the participant has sold about 50,000 ETH at the $2,507 price level since September 22, bringing his overall holdings to 89,500 ETH worth $217 million.
ETH’s Price At A Crossroad
The development comes in the midst of negative price sentiments around Ethereum due to a broader market reaction. Ethereum is currently demonstrating worrying movements, but crypto analyst Ali Martinez has pointed out scenarios that could either lead to a price surge or decline in the short term.
According to Martinez, the altcoin is presently at a pivotal level of $2,300 which could determine its next trajectory. Should ETH hold support over this point, it may undergo a new rally toward $6,000. However, in the event that it fails to maintain the level, a price drop to $1,600 might occur.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com