Ethereum ICO Whale Dumps Another 5000 ETH, Crash To Worsen?

In a concerning development for the Ethereum (ETH) market, a prominent whale has just dumped another 5,000 ETH. This whale initially received 1 million ETH during the Ethereum ICO at a price of just $0.31 has continued their offloading spree. Moreover, it sent ripples through the crypto community as ETH price struggled at $2,500 with over 4% dip in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum ICO Whale Continues ETH Selloff Spree

Today, the whale deposited another 5,000 ETH, worth approximately $13.2 million, to the OKX crypto exchange. This marks the latest in a series of large-scale Ethereum dumps by the whale. Furthermore, they have deposited a total of 48,500 ETH, valued at $154 million, to the exchange over the past month.

The whale’s recent actions have sparked widespread concern within the Ether community, as his dumping activity has shown a consistent and alarming growth rate. The whale began by selling 1,000 ETH on July 8, 2024. Since then, the frequency and volume of his deposits have steadily increased.

After increasing the dump value to 1,500 ETH, the amount grew to 2,000 Ether, then to 2,200 tokens, and eventually 2,800 coins. Most recently, the Ethereum ICO whale has made three consecutive deposits of 5,000 Ether each. This aggressive dumping strategy has concerned the market with Ethereum price dropping over 4% to the $2,500 level today.

The situation has prompted concerns about further dump by the Ethereum ICO whale and subsequent ETH price decline. Especially, netizens have sounded alarm over the whale’s remaining stash of 951,500 tokens, valued at an astonishing $2.41 billion at current prices. The potential impact of such a massive supply of Ether hitting the market could be devastating for its price stability.

ETH To Crash Below $2800?

Market participants are now closely watching the bulls’ attempt to push the price back toward the $3,000 mark. However, technical indicators are flashing warning signals, as reported by Coingape earlier. The impending death cross between the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) suggests that selling pressure may intensify in the coming days.

This technical pattern, often associated with a bearish outlook, could potentially drive ETH price down to $1,830. Adding to the bearish sentiment, Ethereum long liquidations surged. Long positions worth $33.28 million were liquidated, while short positions worth $11.88 million were also wiped out. The scale of these liquidations underscores the heightened risk of further downside movement in ETH price.

On the flip side, Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a whopping $105 million inflows last week due to the strong start. Despite the growing optimism around the ETF flows, the week closed with three consecutive days of outflows. Hence, the ETF market signals a mixed approach and analysts from QCP Capital flagged a shift in focus to Bitcoin ETFs.

Ethereum Seized In Plus Token Ponzi Scheme

Amid the Ethereum ICO whale offloading, the recent ETH movements reportedly initiated by the Chinese government has also sparked speculations. On August 8, wallets holding seized Ethereum from the Plus Token ponzi schemed allegedly moved $2 billion worth of Ether.

An investigation by EmberCN has uncovered that a substantial amount of Ethereum, totaling 789,534 ETH, was transferred to the Bidesk exchange. This transfer was initiated via various wallets during the months between June and September 2021.

However, following the exchange’s bankruptcy later that year, these Ethereum assets were subsequently redirected to the crypto exchange Huobi. Notably, 268,843 ETH were funneled into Bidesk through four specific deposit addresses.

Interestingly, some of these Ethereum assets were never sent to Bidesk in 2021, while others were withdrawn from Bidesk but have yet to be transferred to Huobi. Further findings from the investigation reveal that 12 addresses received this connected to the Plus Token ponzi scheme, valued at $63.1 million in last week’s transfer. Also, the aforementioned Ethereum whale dumped 5,000 tokens on the same day.

Hence, EmberCN concluded that the Chinese government likely sold a major portion of the 789,534 ETH in 2021. Thus, the latest transfer of about $63 million Ether shouldn’t do significant harm to the market. However, this dump coupled with massive long liquidations, Ethereum ICO whale dump, and lower interest into Ether ETFs indicates caution.