An Ethereum ICO whale has raised concerns of selling pressure by transferring 4,160 ETH worth around $14.5 million to the Kraken exchange. The move by the whale, who has historically engaged in strategic peak sales, has the potential to cause short-term volatility in the Ethereum price.
There was a notable development in the cryptocurrency market. A former Ethereum ICO whale transferred 4,160 ETH to the Kraken exchange on December 25. This transaction raised concerns among investors that selling pressure could increase. According to SpotOnChain data, this wallet participated in the Ethereum ICO in 2015 and purchased ETH at $0.31 per token.
The whale wallet has historically had a habit of profiting from market peaks by strategically selling. For example:
On December 4, 2024, when the Ethereum price hit $4,000, the whale sold 2,719 ETH (about $10.1 million).
He sold a total of 60 ETH ($158,000) in October and September 2024.
What these sales had in common was that the whale liquidated its assets when the Ethereum price reached certain levels. The whale currently has 7,043 ETH (about $24.6 million) in its wallet, with the majority of these assets being staked.
According to analysts, such large transfers can often cause short-term selling pressure on the Ethereum price. Similar moves have been followed by price corrections in the past. For example:
In October 2024, a whale sold 19,000 ETH ($31.6 million).
Another ICO participant moved 5,000 ETH ($12.2 million) to Kraken.
Such moves can create bearish expectations among investors, leading to volatility in the Ethereum price. Ethereum struggled to keep up with the general upward momentum of the market over the Christmas holiday, trading at $3,438 at press time, down 1.5% in the past 24 hours.
Bitget Research chief analyst Ryan Lee predicts Ethereum could test $105,000 as liquidity increases in the post-holiday markets, but analysts warn that large whale transfers could put pressure on the price in the short term.