Ethereum (ETH) has seen sharp declines in recent days, forcing some of the cryptocurrency’s largest holders to liquidate large amounts of their holdings. According to market tracker LookonChain, Ethereum’s price has fallen 18.35% from Monday’s high of $4,109, forming a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily chart.
According to recent updates, ETH has lost over 7% today alone, prompting whales to dump a significant portion of their holdings to pay off debts. At press time, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is trading at $3,390, with its 24-hour trading volume up 14%, indicating increased market activity.
Whales are unloading, buying millions of Ethereum holdings
A whale deposited 22,746 ETH, worth $77.7 million, into Binance in the early hours of Friday to withdraw stablecoins and pay off debt on DeFi platforms Spark and Aave, LookonChain reported. In total, the whale moved 31,968 ETH, worth roughly $108.3 million at current valuations, to Binance over the past two days.
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Another whale staked an even larger sum of 49,910 ETH, worth $170 million, on Binance hours ago. This person then withdrew $137.8 million worth of stablecoins from the exchange, likely to pay off debt.
In the seven days leading up to December 18, Ethereum whales holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH collectively reduced their holdings from 13.47 million ETH to 13.41 million ETH. This sale represents 60,000 ETH offloaded, worth over $200 million.
According to CoinGlass data, Ethereum liquidations have surpassed $190 million in the past 24 hours, with long and short positions reaching $165 million and $25 million, respectively. The coin’s open interest (OI) has dropped by 7.4%, following the current trend of the cryptocurrency market, which is trading in the red.
Despite the widespread selling activity, not all whales are taking a bearish stance. World Liberty Finance, an entity reportedly linked to Donald Trump, shelled out $2.5 million to acquire 722 ETH on Thursday.
After ETH, #Trump's World Liberty ( @worldlibertyfi ) bought $2.5M worth of ETH back 2 hours ago. https://t.co/AmeIF2plRbpic.twitter.com/UwI88MfoUK - Lookonchain (@lookonchain) is looking...
Additionally, another prominent whale associated with Longling Capital strategically bought 6,000 ETH during the drop. Known for his precise market timing, this whale is said to have made $83 million in profits by taking advantage of Ethereum’s price fluctuations.
For the first time since November 6, the aggregate premium for futures positions turned bearish, indicating an increase in short positions relative to long positions. This shift added downward pressure on Ethereum prices, pushing it back below the $4,000 threshold.