Key Insights
- Ethereum whales are split between heavy accumulation and profit-taking amid rising prices.
- SharpLink Gaming and World Liberty Financial have acquired massive ETH holdings.
- Other whales, including Trend Research, have offloaded large volumes, and short-term traders should be cautious.
Ethereum ICO whale activity is reaching new highs. This happened as ETH recently broke above $3,400 for the first time in six months. The move came amid fresh market confidence across most of the market. However, these whales are split in their strategies.
While some are accumulating aggressively, others are locking in profits. This divergence comes when Ethereum outperforms most altcoins near the psychological $3,500 price level. What should traders be on the lookout for from here?
Ethereum ICO Whales on the Move: SharpLink and WLFI Signal Long-Term Confidence
One of the most aggressive Ethereum whales right now is SharpLink Gaming. Over the past eight days, the company has acquired 111,609 ETH worth roughly $343 million.
This Ethereum ICO Whale recently added another 20,279 ETH through Coinbase Prime and Galaxy Digital. This accumulation spree has now pushed its total holdings to 321,000 ETH.
SharpLink has an average entry of $2,745 per coin. It is currently sitting on an unrealized profit of around $204 million. Their accumulation strategy points to long-term confidence in Ethereum’s growth.
Conversely, Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) also loads up on ETH. As an Ethereum ICO whale, the company recently bought 3,007 ETH for $10 million at an average of $3,326. WLFI’s total stash now stands at 70,505 ETH, valued at around $230 million.
More Ethereum ICO Whales Are Quietly Accumulating
While some whales are publicly moving ETH, others are more discreet. One mysterious Ethereum ICO whale, identified by wallet address 0x35fb, withdrew 88,292 ETH from Kraken over the past week.
This stash is worth nearly $300 million. Analysts believe this could be a publicly traded company preparing to disclose reserves. Either this, or the ETH is from a cold storage move by Kraken itself.
Fenbushi Capital also made similar moves, withdrawing 4,000 ETH from Binance. These actions show a trend of strategic accumulation, likely in anticipation of further bullish moves.
Not Every Ethereum ICO Whale Is Buying, Though
Despite the bullish price action, several Ethereum ICO whales are cashing out. For example, Trend Research, a crypto investment firm, sold 79,470 ETH for $250 million over the last two days.
The firm acquired 184,115 ETH between February and June at $2,118 average. After the sell-off, it still holds over 105,000 ETH.
Another high-profile Ethereum ICO whale sold 98,610 ETH for around $278 million amid the recent pump. The same wallet had previously earned $30 million from Ethereum trades and still holds 35,000 ETH.
Even non-profits are making moves. For example, Argot Collective, which received funding from the Ethereum Foundation, sold 1,210 ETH for USDC. Since July 11, they’ve converted over 3,600 ETH into $11.2 million USDC, averaging $3,089 per ETH.
Heavy Shorting and Bearish Bets
One interesting Ethereum whale, using the wallet 0x2258…, recently opened a massive $62.4 million short using 18x leverage. The whale entered this position at $3,060 and has already produced a 30% unrealized profit. This happened as ETH dropped below that level temporarily.
Another Ethereum ICO whale, who reportedly turned $416 into $4.9M, has already deposited 729 $ETH ($2.53M) to Kraken. The whale now holds $2.07M staked and could be looking at further sales in the future.
Overall, Ethereum is still up by around 22% this month and more than 117% over the last 90 days. Yet, it still hasn’t reclaimed its all-time high. As more whales continue to make their moves, only time will tell what Ethereum has in store for the average investor.