A massive Ethereum whale that accumulated nearly 400,000 ETH when the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at around $6 per token has recently restarted selling.
According to data shared by on-chain analysis firm Lookonchain, the whale accumulated a total of 398,889 ETH for around $2.4 million between January and March 2016, with the tokens now being worth over $1.34 billion after Ethereum’s price exploded in the last eight years.
The cryptocurrency is now trading at $3,350 per token and has a $404 billion market capitalization. Per Lookonchain, the massive Ethereum whale remained dormant for over eight years, before it restarted selling on November 7.
The whale has so far sold73,356 ETH worth around $224.4 million, but still has 325,533 ETH worth $1.1 billion in its wallet.
The whale’s resurgence comes after the price of Ethereum surged by more than 8.5% mid a wider cryptocurrency market rally that has seen the price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin near the $100,000 mark for the first time.
While Bitcoin is trading near a record, Ethereum is still far from its all-time high near $4,600 seen back in 2021. As CryptoGlobe reported, late last month the amount of ETH being held on cryptocurrency exchanges has plunged by around $750 million after massive withdrawals of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization from these platforms.
According to on-chain data from on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant shared by popular cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez, 300,000 ETH tokens worth approximately $750 million were withdrawn from exchanges in a single week.
A smaller supply of Ethereum on cryptocurrency exchanges is often interpreted as a bullish sign, as if demand remains steady or rises it could lead to price rises. Often, funds are moved off of exchanges so holders can custody their own funds to keep them for the long-term.
Ethereum holders may also move their funds off of exchanges to stake their funds on the network in a bid to earn a yield on their holdings through the network’s Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.
Featured image via Pixabay.
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