An Ethereum whale activity has been spotted withdrawing 16,449 ETH, valued at approximately $50.3 million, from Binance. This substantial transaction occurred as the price of Ethereum rebounded to over $3,000.
According to Spot On Chain, an onchain data provider, the whale’s activity marks their first significant accumulation of Ether (ETH) and has drawn considerable attention. The entire amount has been moved to a new wallet, where it remains held.
Withdrawal timing
The timing of this withdrawal is particularly notable as it coincides with the anticipated launch of the Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) next week. In their post on the X social platform, Spot On Chain questioned whether this large-scale transfer could be a bullish signal for Ethereum.
The introduction of an ETF is expected to increase institutional interest and investment in Ethereum, potentially driving up its price. The recent whale activity and the upcoming ETF launch are proof of a period of heightened interest and potential volatility for Ethereum.
According to Cointelegraph’s market report, Ether’s price surged by 10.11%, reaching $3,113 on July 9, up from a low of about $2,830 the previous day. This ETH/USD rally happened alongside CoinShares’ weekly report, which showed that Ether-linked investment funds received inflows of $10.2 million for the week ending July 5.
Updating Ether ETF registrations
However, a few days after the inflows, asset management companies VanEck and 21Shares amended their S-1 registrations with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to gain approval in July and list and trade shares of a spot Ether ETF.
Related: Ethereum ETFs ‘close to the finish line’ — Bitwise exec
21Shares also submitted an updated form for its Core Ethereum ETF. While neither filing provided an exact launch date for US exchanges, both stated that the ETFs would launch “as soon as practicable after the effective date” of the registration.
Meanwhile, there has been increasing competition among ETF sponsors ahead of the expected rollout of spot Ether funds later this month. On July 9, Invesco and Galaxy set a 0.25% management fee for the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF in a filing to US regulators.
The SEC gave the go-ahead for spot Ether ETFs in the country in May. However, investors withdrew $61 million from Ether ETH investment products between June 24 and 29, bringing the total outflows for the month’s end to $119 million and June’s total balance to $37 million in funds withdrawn.
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