Ethereum Alert: Over 10,000 ETH Moved to Binance by a Smart Whale

A notable Ethereum smart whale transferred 12,087 ETH, equivalent to around $20.61 million, to Binance today, according to EmberCN, an onchain analys. This transaction marks the latest in a series of strategic moves by the investor, who has been notably silent for the past two years.

This smart whale, who initially acquired 52,000 ETH between December 2018 and January 2019 at an average price of $110, has fully liquidated their holdings, realizing an estimated profit of $46.15 million, or an 804% increase. The transactions were executed through various centralized exchanges (CEXs), including Kraken, Bitstamp, and most recently, Binance.

A Multi-Year Strategy Unfolds

The whale's investment strategy spanned over several years and involved multiple transactions:

June 2019: 27,198 ETH were transferred to Bitstamp at an average price of $257.

July 2019 to August 2021: 12,715 ETH were moved to Kraken, with an average price of $1,911.

August 2023: 12,087 ETH were sent to Binance at an average price of $1,705.

The average selling price across these transactions was $998, significantly higher than the initial average buying price of $110.

Calculating the Gains

The whale's total investment was initially acquired for approximately $5.73 million (52,000 ETH at an average price of $110). After the series of transactions, the total value realized was approximately $51.88 million, yielding a profit of $46.15 million or an 804% increase.

Implications for the Market

The recent transfer to Binance is noteworthy not just for its size but also for what it may imply about market sentiment. Large transfers of cryptocurrency to exchanges often precede selling activity, which could exert downward pressure on prices. While it's difficult to attribute market movements to single actors, the timing and scale of this transaction could be interpreted as a lack of optimism about Ethereum's immediate future.