With the broad cryptocurrency market showing signs of a brief rebound, whales appear to be exiting the market regardless.
On August 27, on-chain monitoring company Whale Alert reported a massive Ethereum deposit in a mysterious move that appears to be an attempt to sell.
The major ETH transfer, which happened in a matter of minutes, saw a total of 33,622 ETH flow into the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase. Although the transfers were made in two separate transactions, the total ETH moved in both transactions was worth over $213 million, per data provided by the source.
Following the nature of both transfers, they have been perceived as a major sell attempt from Ethereum whales, as large crypto deposits to crypto trading platforms are pointers to massive selling sprees from high-profile investors or institutions.
Massive ETH dump from whales
It is not uncommon for transfers like this to be executed during moments of high volatility and broad market dips where investors look to secure their capital and avoid major losses. However, these massive Ethereum transfers were spotted when the market was experiencing a sharp rebound in the prices of cryptocurrencies, including leading altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
As such, it appears that long-persisting market correction has seen investors' confidence go weak, and whales are taking decisive efforts to dump their holdings. Hence, large investors are increasingly spotted selling off their stash in preparation for the supposed bear phase.
After multiple days of trading sideways, the market has seen a brief resurgence in the price of Ethereum, flipping from a low of $4,501 to a high of $4,656 within the same day.
While the large ETH deposits to Coinbase in the last hour may not have affected the price performance of the asset during the period, commentators suggest that the move might be mere strategic portfolio redistribution from institutions.
With bearish concerns increasingly lingering within the crypto ecosystem in the past days, investors are worried that bears might be taking over the market, leading to deeper plunges in the prices of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are renowned for their dominance in the crypto market.
Nonetheless, Ethereum has remained stable on the upside since the time of the transfers, according to data showcased by CoinMarketCap. With Ethereum trading steadily at around $4,642.01, it has surged by nearly 3% in the last 24 hours.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team