ETH Rally Stalls After News of Jeffrey Wilcke's Deposit

The latest whale selling for Ethereum (ETH) originated from the wallets of Jeffrey Wilcke, one of the project's co-founders.

One of the project’s co-founders moved another 20,000 ETH, while the latest whale selling for Ethereum (ETH) originated from the wallets of Jeffrey Wilcke. Another 20K ETH acquired at a low price range was sent to Kraken.

One of the co-founders of Ethereum (ETH), Jeffrey Wilcke sent 20K ETH to Kraken. This recent transfer continues a trend where Wilcke has been steadily liquidating his initial share of ETH from the 2021 bull market.

After the network’s launch in 2016, Wilcke started with a founder’s allocation of 463,203 ETH. Since then, he has made total exchange deposits of 356,805 ETH. Before the 2021 bull market, Wilcke shifted a total of 290,505 ETH to exchanges at an average deposit price of $190.

Following a pause, Wilcke resumed selling in the summer of 2023 and liquidated over 63K ETH. The wallet still contains another 106K ETH, which can be sold at a much higher average price. While the exchange deposits may not necessarily indicate selling and could be preparation for a larger ETH rally, the selling pressure might slow down as this early wallet has already sold a large portion of its holdings.

The token’s price did not stall its rally above $3,500 despite the new ETH inflow. However, the selling raised the issue of early ETH founders failing to hold the token at key moments. Wilcke’s move is similar to selling from the Ethereum Foundation, which is usually taken as an indicator of a local market peak, followed by a price drawdown.

The concerns about ETH are centered on its still-delayed major rally, as the asset is still below $4,000 while BTC moved into a new price range. The readiness of early Ethereum investors to sell is often a point of contention in the community. Vitalik Buterin has also continued to sell hundreds of ETH, though largely for donations and investments.

ETH Rally Stalls on News of Wilcke’s Deposit

The latest inflow of ETH, valued at $70M, is a small amount in the short term, especially when considering the total exchange availability of the token. Last week, markets held more than $70B in ETH liquidity, with inflows. It was Wilcke’s reluctance to act as a crypto insider that contributed to a less decisive rally for ETH.

After breaching the $3,400 mark, ETH expanded to a high of $3,549.30. After breaking the $3,700 resistance level, the next potential stop for ETH is $4,000. In order to continue its growth, ETH aims to close the week above that level.

Despite the recent correction, ETH’s open interest is still close to its three-year peak at $16.1B. The token has a 72% long position dominance, suggesting that leveraged positions may be attacked with a short-term correction.

Can Whales Sway ETH?

For some, ETH selling from whales is only seen as a tool to create uncertainty. Compared to other assets, ETH is much more liquid, and short-term selling is easily absorbed.

The supply of ETH is also widely distributed, with no single entity having enough power to sway the market. More than 34.2M ETH is locked in staking by a diverse group of validators. Whales hold 65.1M ETH in total, which includes exchange wallets, vaults and other reserves.

The first class of investors hold 14.5M ETH, while retail also owns around 65M ETH. Some of the whales and retail overlap with staking, given the total supply of 120M. Early investors tend to hold ETH for the long term, not selling but instead supporting other projects or staking for passive income.

Moreover, the Ethereum ETF saw another day of over $90M in new inflows. The Bitcoin ETF drew in $103M, with ETH catching up quickly. In a short period of time, Ethereum ETFs have drawn more than $10B in assets under management and have become the biggest cluster of ETH long-term holders.

In the long term, ETH still has a bullish outlook, which is evident from its ecosystem’s growth and expansion. The movement of whales into Ethena (ENA) is also a sign that ETH is seen as a reliable and expandable base.