An Ethereum whale has withdrawn 16,449 ETH, worth approximately $50.3 million, from Binance. This transaction occurred as the price of Ethereum surged past $3,000.
According to Spot On Chain, this marks the whale’s first significant accumulation of Ether and has garnered considerable attention. The entire amount has been transferred to a new wallet and remains there.
Timing of the Withdrawal
The timing of this withdrawal is particularly noteworthy as it coincides with the anticipated launch of ETH ETFs next week. Spot On Chain questioned whether this large-scale transfer could be a bullish signal for Ethereum.
The introduction of ETFs is expected to boost institutional interest and investment in Ethereum, potentially driving its price higher. The whale's activity and the upcoming ETF launch indicate a period of increased interest and potential volatility for Ethereum.
Ether's price increased by 10%, reaching $3.113 on July 9, up from around $2,830 the previous day. This ETH price surge coincided with CoinShares' weekly report, which showed that funds linked to Ether saw inflows of $10.2 million in the week ending July 5.
Update on Ether ETF Filings
A few days after these inflows, asset management companies VanEck and 21Shares amended their S-1 filings with the SEC to gain approval in July and list, trade shares of a spot Ether ETF.
21Shares also submitted an updated form for its Core Ethereum ETF. Although neither filing provided a specific launch date for U.S. exchanges, both indicated that the ETFs would be launched “as soon as practicable after the effective date” of the registration.
Meanwhile, competition among ETF sponsors has been increasing ahead of the anticipated launch of spot Ether ETFs later this month. On July 9, Invesco and Galaxy set a management fee of 0.25% for the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF in a filing with U.S. regulators.
The SEC approved spot Ether ETFs in the U.S. in May. However, investors withdrew $61 million from Ether investment products between June 24 and 29, bringing the total outflows at the end of the month to $119 million and the total for June to $37 million withdrawn from the funds.
