A crypto whale recently deposited 5,000 Ethereum (ETH) on the OKX exchange, continuing a series of purchases totaling 154 million dollars. The investor had already purchased 1 million tokens during the initial offering of Ethereum.
Let’s see all the details below.
The role of the whale in crypto exchanges: the OKX-Ethereum case
As anticipated, an Ethereum whale recently offloaded a significant amount of Ether, with the latest operation seeing a deposit of $13.2 million on the OKX exchange.
The blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain has detected that an address associated with this whale has transferred 5,000 ETH, worth approximately 13.2 million dollars, to OKX.
This deposit is just the latest in a series of similar transactions carried out by the same whale, who has regularly transferred millions of dollars in ETH to OKX over a span of more than 30 days.
According to the available information, the portfolio in question belongs to a whale who initially acquired 1 million ETH during the initial coin offering (ICO) of Ethereum.
The transfer activity on OKX started on July 8 with a deposit of 1 ETH, probably to verify the correct address.
Followed by more substantial transfers of Ether, ranging between 1,000 and 5,000 ETH, for a total of approximately 154 million dollars in ETH transferred to OKX over a span of 35 days. These funds were deposited at an average price of $3,176 per ETH.
Speculations and opinions of crypto users
The growing activity of this whale has sparked wide speculation within the crypto community, with heated discussions on the social platform X (formerly Twitter).
Some members hypothesize that the portfolio might belong to one of the co-founders of Ethereum, such as Vitalik Buterin, Joseph Lubin, or Anthony Di Iorio.
On the other hand, others have suggested that this could be a strategy to sell before the price of ETH increases further.
Others have reacted more optimistically, noting that the whale still has 16,000 ETH, worth 42.6 million dollars, divided between two wallets, suggesting that the selling phase might be almost over.
In contrast to this selling activity, another whale took advantage of the moment to accumulate a similar amount of ETH.
On August 12, this second whale purchased 5,000 ETH, worth 12.8 million dollars at the time of purchase, highlighting the continued attractiveness of Ethereum despite market volatility.
According to the blockchain analysis platform Scopescan, the whale had previously purchased ETH when the price had dropped to $2,100, before it recovered to $3,100.
These contrasting movements between sales and purchases by whales demonstrate the complexity and unpredictability of the cryptocurrency market.
The success of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust: a milestone of $1 billion
The iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) by BlackRock has recently marked an important milestone, approaching the threshold of 1 billion dollars in capital inflows.
This result highlights the growing popularity and success of ETHA compared to other similar products approved for the trading of spot ETFs on Ethereum in the United States.
The data provided by Farside Investors reveals that the cash flow into ETHA has exceeded 901 million dollars, consolidating BlackRock’s position as a leader in the Ethereum ETF market.
Surpassing consequently prominent competitors such as Fidelity Investments, Bitwise, Grayscale Investments, and VanEck.
Launched on July 23, 2024, ETHA offers investors the possibility to trade Ethereum through traditional brokerage accounts.
Providing at the same time a simple option for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to directly own Ethereum without having to face the complex operational costs and tax challenges often associated with such investments.
Despite the initial difficulties encountered by ETHA, with days characterized by modest or even zero inflows, the fund has nevertheless accumulated a significant influx of capital.
This is probably thanks to the strong influence of BlackRock as one of the largest asset managers in the world.
According to the data published on the product page, ETHA has collected a total of shares worth 293,938.95, with an overall valuation of 761,954,433.48 dollars.
With the growing enthusiasm around spot ETFs on Ethereum, many market observers expect this positive trend to continue, with possible reflections on the price trend of Ethereum itself.
The future of the ETF market on cryptocurrencies therefore appears promising, with BlackRock firmly leading the race.
