Ethereum Whale Resumes Selling, Liquidates 40,000 ETH Amid Market Downturn
After six months of holding steady, a prominent Ethereum whale has resumed offloading its holdings, selling 40,000 ETH worth $89 million in just two days. Data from Arkham Intelligence reveals that this activity coincides with a broader market correction.
Largest Ethereum Recipient from Genesis
Blockchain analysis shows that the wallet address “0x999E” was the largest recipient of Ethereum from Genesis Global, a crypto lender that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023. During its restructuring, Genesis distributed $4 billion in digital assets to creditors last August.
Initially, Genesis planned to return only 65.87% of each creditor’s Ethereum holdings. However, due to a significant increase in ETH’s market value at the time, the reduction was offset by price appreciation. As part of this process, the whale wallet in question received a total of 114,500 ETH, then valued at $358 million.
Despite holding onto these assets for six months, the whale has now begun liquidating them at a lower price. When the address received its ETH, the price was $3,128 per coin. However, after a more than 30% market decline, the overall value of the wallet has dropped by $110 million.
Selling at a Loss
Arkham’s on-chain data shows that in the past two days, the wallet sent 40,000 ETH to two major crypto firms:
- 30,000 ETH to Galaxy Digital
- 10,000 ETH to FalconX
In return, the wallet has received USDC stablecoins from these over-the-counter (OTC) platforms, confirming that the transactions were indeed sales. Galaxy Digital transferred $20 million USDC to the wallet yesterday, while FalconX sent $19.49 million USDC a day earlier.
The whale’s sudden move has sparked speculation among traders and analysts. Some investors are questioning whether this is a one-time sell-off or if the whale intends to continue liquidating its holdings. As of now, the wallet still holds 100,252 ETH worth $218 million, making up 84% of its total crypto portfolio.
Ethereum Shows Signs of Recovery
Despite the whale’s sales, Ethereum has rebounded slightly. The asset briefly dipped below $2,000 for the first time since November 2023, but quickly recovered to close at $2,170 yesterday.
This momentum has carried into today, with ETH gaining 1.2% to trade at $2,200 at the time of writing. With a current market capitalization of $265 billion, Ethereum remains the second-largest cryptocurrency, showing resilience despite recent selling pressure.
The whale’s next move remains uncertain, but all eyes are on whether further liquidations could impact Ethereum’s price trajectory.
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