Early Ethereum Investor Dumps 14K ETH, Nets $29M Profit

An early Ethereum whale reportedly sells 14,000 ETH through the leading crypto trading algorithm platform, Wintermute OTC.  The transaction, valued at approximately $31.92 million, occurred yesterday, February 27, at 22:58 (UTC). Data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the user behind the wallet, 0x95B…A90e7, transferred 14,000 ETH to Wintermute OTC in two separate transactions containing 7,000 ETH. 

Source of Funds It bears mentioning that the 14,000 ETH originated from an ancient Ethereum address, 0x035...8dFC7, which scooped 35,932 ETH in the past.  Specifically, this early Ethereum address acquired the assets at an average price of $203.22 per coin between September 2016 and December 2018, totaling $7.3 million.  Since accumulating Ethereum, the source address has been transferring the funds to different blockchain wallets. Some of these addresses have also interacted with Wintermute OTC over the years.   Whale Nets Over $29M in Profit Notably, crypto assets transferred to Wintermute OTC are usually sold for stablecoins. This suggests the whale may have profited $29.07 million by selling the 14,000 ETH.  Following the transaction, the wallet currently has a balance of 0.515 ETH, worth $1,093. On the other hand, the source address still holds 49.562 ETH ($105,140).  Ethereum Sees Massive Selloffs  The transaction comes as the broader crypto market continues to experience significant downturns, spreading panic among investors. Yesterday, the Fear and Greed Index dropped to a multi-year low of 10, suggesting that the market was in extreme fear.  This was driven by the massive selloffs across the market, with whales and institutions selling 8,074 ETH within 13 hours at an average price of $2,431.  While investors were still recuperating from the dump, prominent asset manager BlackRock transferred 30,280 ETH ($71.85 million) to Coinbase, hinting at potential sales. The transaction aligns with BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHE) registering an outflow of $70 million. Other Ethereum spot ETF issuers saw significant outflows this week besides BlackRock. For instance, Grayscale Investments and Fidelity sold a combined $24.5 million worth of ETH tokens. Meanwhile, the Fear and Greed Index currently stands at 21 as the market gradually recovers from yesterday’s selloff. ETH is currently trading at $2,179, marking a decline of 5.91% in the past 24 hours and 22.33% in the past week.