An Ethereum ICO participant, dormant for two years, has resumed a large-scale selloff of his holdings. On-chain data shows the whale dumped 19,000 ETH
An early Ethereum ICO participant, who has been largely dormant for the past two years, has now resumed a large-scale selloff of his holdings. According to data from IntoTheBlock, the whale has been observed dumping 19,000 ETH over the past two days. This selloff began on October 1 and has continued as the whale sells off their remaining holdings.
The Ethereum ICO, which took place in 2015, saw this particular wallet receive 150,000 ETH at a price of just $0.31 per coin. The initial value of that Ether amounted to only $46,500. Today, that same Ether stash is worth a staggering $358 million, representing a remarkable return on investment. The whale began selling after a two-year period of inactivity, sparking curiosity and concern across the Ethereum community.
On October 1, the wallet dumped 4,000 ETH when the price was $2,655. The selloff continued with an additional 5,000 ETH offloaded the same day, worth about $12.7 million. Over the next few days, the whale continued unloading his Ether, selling 6,000 ETH on Wednesday at a price of $2,450, valued at approximately $14.7 million. To close out the two-day spree, he sold another 4,000 ETH when Ethereum’s price dropped to $2,380.
The large selloff from this ICO whale has coincided with ETH’s declining price, dropping more than 10% in October alone. The ongoing market uncertainties, exacerbated by the whale’s significant sales, have created ripples of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) among investors. Some community members have even voiced their frustrations, blaming ETH co-founder Vitalik Buterin for not taking more proactive measures to stabilize the market.
The market-wide turbulence, compounded by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, has deepened ETH’s struggles. As of this writing, the asset has plummeted to $2,371, down 4.6% in the past 24 hours.
Interestingly, while retail investors panic, institutional players seem to be buying up the dip. Data from Sosovalue shows that the BlackRock iShare Ethereum Trust (ETHA) purchased 7,631 ETH, equivalent to $18.04 million, just yesterday. In total, Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen inflows of $14.45 million this week.
As the whale continues to offload his massive Ether holdings, ETH’s price will likely remain volatile. However, institutional investors’ growing interest may provide some stability. In the coming days, all eyes will be on how Ethereum reacts to this ongoing selling pressure.
