Whale Moves 16,447 ETH Ahead of Ethereum Spot ETF Launch

An Ethereum Whale grabbed the attention of crypto market observers on Wednesday by transferring 16,449 ETH (valued at approximately $50.3 million) from their Binance wallet to another address, potentially signaling bullish sentiment as the market anticipates the launch of the Ethereum Spot ETF.

Timing of the Ethereum Whale’s Withdrawal And the Spot ETF Launch

As Ether’s price rebounded above $3,000, an Ethereum Whale withdrew 16,449 ETH, according to on-chain data provider Spot On Chain.

7 hours ago, a whale/institution withdrew 16,449 $ETH ($50.3M) from #Binance as the #Ethereum price rebounded to above $3,000.

This is the whale’s first large $ETH accumulation. So far, it has moved all $ETH to a new wallet and held them there.

Note that the ETH ETF is likely… pic.twitter.com/BBHOvWM3yx

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) July 10, 2024

This on-chain data also revealed this was the whale’s first major Ether accumulation.

The timing of this large withdrawal is considered strategic by many, as spot Ethereum ETFs are expected to launch in the United States next week, leading to speculation about potential market movements and investor sentiment.

Many expect Ether to follow a similar trajectory as Bitcoin, which saw large market accumulations following the launch of its spot ETFs.

This is based on the expectation that institutional investors will increase their appetite for ETH investment, potentially driving up its price.

Ether’s price increased by 10.11% on July 9, reaching a high of $3,113 after a low of approximately $2,830 the previous day.

This rally coincided with a CoinShares report stating that Ethereum-linked investment funds received $10.2 million last week.

Many speculators argue that the aggressive acquisition of ETH is in anticipation of the launch of the Ethereum Spot ETF.

This trend echoes similar market behavior following the SEC’s approval of spot Ethereum ETFs 19-b4 filings on May 23.

Contrasting Whale Movement Around Ethereum Amid ETF Anticipation

While some whales are accumulating ETH, Golem Network, an early Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) project, adopted a different approach, transferring over $100 million worth of Ether to various cryptocurrency exchanges over the past month. This action has the potential to introduce major selling pressure.

Golem’s primary wallet has systematically moved ETH to secondary wallets, which then distribute the funds to exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, and Coinbase.

These transactions, typically valued at around $72 million, have occurred daily for the last five days.

Golem(@golemproject) has sold 24,400 $ETH($72M) on #Binance, #Coinbase and #Bitfinex in the past 3 days, and currently holds 127,634 $ETH($372M).

Golem raised 820,000 $ETH through ICO in November 2016, when the price of $ETH was only $10.2.https://t.co/6c9yw07Sce… pic.twitter.com/wHHCRoQMEz

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 8, 2024

Golem, which raised funds during the ICO boom of 2016-2019, is attracting attention with this move.

ICOs, once a popular fundraising method for cryptocurrency projects, have faced challenges due to regulatory scrutiny and waning investor interest.

⌛ Ethereum ETFs might be coming soon. Bitwise CCO Katherine Dowling says "fewer and fewer" issues are popping up in S-1 filings, signaling a potential green light from the SEC. #EthereumETFs #ETHhttps://t.co/Sm0j8GmYLP

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) July 10, 2024

Despite these mixed signals from different market entities, the crypto community’s attention remains focused mainly on the imminent launch of Ethereum spot ETFs.

Katherine Dowling, Bitwise’s Chief Compliance Officer, has suggested that the approval process may be nearing its conclusion, with ETF issuers having submitted their S-1 amendments.