As an Ethereum whale from the ICO era sells off another 3,000 ETH today, the ETH/BTC trading pair hits its lowest point since 2021.
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The price of Ethereum (ETH) has been stuck in a sideways trend, lingering around $2,550, even as many altcoins attempt to rally. The ETH/BTC pair has also seen a decline, reaching its lowest level since 2021. Meanwhile, significant selling continues as long-time participants in the ecosystem offload their holdings.
Ethereum Whale Continues Selling
Data from Spot on Chain reveals that an Ethereum ICO participant recently transferred an impressive 3,000 ETH, worth approximately $7.63 million, to the crypto exchange Kraken after nearly four months without activity.
This participant initially acquired 254,908 ETH at the Genesis block in July 2015 for just $79,000. The whale purchased the tokens at an ICO price of around $0.31 per ETH and now holds 37,070 ETH, valued at about $94.3 million.
Recent Ethereum whale selling has occurred despite Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announcing significant updates aimed at enhancing transaction speed and reducing gas fees. Just the day before, he revealed that the upcoming 'The Verge' upgrade would lower hardware requirements, allowing node operations to be accessible on all devices. However, the price of Ethereum has not reacted positively to these developments. A report from 10x Research noted:
“A series of overly academic articles from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, combined with declining revenues, has contributed to Ether’s price correction amid resurfacing macroeconomic challenges”.
Decline in the Ethereum/Bitcoin Pair
The lack of demand for Ethereum is evident in technical charts, as it continues to lose ground to Bitcoin. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen pointed out that the ETH/BTC pair has recently dropped below its previous low. He indicated that if the support level at 0.038 does not hold, the next target could be around 0.036.
Cowen expects that the cycle's bottom may occur by the end of the year, or at least by the second week of January. Currently, during this wave of whale activity, Ethereum's price stands at $2,527.11, down 1.96% at press time, with a market capitalization of $304 billion.
In April, August, and December of 2016, Ethereum (ETH) faced notable declines. Likewise, significant drops occurred in April and August of 2024, leading Cowen to suggest that there is a strong possibility of further declines before the year's end, with a potential low occurring in December.
Moreover, demand for spot Ethereum ETFs remains weak compared to the strong inflows seen in Bitcoin ETFs.