Ancient Ethereum Whale Cashes Out: $274M+ Profit Taken in Monumental Portfolio Liquidation

An early Ethereum whale just made a seismic exit—liquidating a massive, long-held ETH position for a staggering profit north of $274 million.

The Whale Emerges

Blockchain sleuths tracked the movement from a wallet that's been dormant for years. This wasn't a casual trader; this was an 'ancient' holder, one of the original believers, finally deciding to bank their generational gains. The sheer scale of the sell-off sent ripples through on-chain analytics platforms.

Decoding the Exit Strategy

Why sell now? The whale's timing is a masterclass in patience, waiting through multiple market cycles to execute. While some see it as a bearish signal—a giant taking money off the table—others view it as simple, prudent profit-taking. After all, turning digital assets into nine-figure real-world wealth is the ultimate goal for many, even if it means paying a king's ransom in capital gains tax—a cynical reminder that even in decentralized finance, the taxman always gets his cut.

What This Means for the Pond

Large, concentrated sell-offs can create temporary price pressure, but Ethereum's market is deep. This event is less about market mechanics and more about narrative: a foundational player is moving on. It marks a symbolic passing of the torch, proving that life-changing wealth can be built in this space, even if it eventually gets parked in something as boring as a treasury bond.

The whale has swum away. The rest of the market watches, calculates, and wonders who's next.

OG Ethereum whale position gets absorbed by the market

In total, the Ethereum OG whale acquired 154,046 ETH over time. The whale held continuously since November 2021, waiting out the early 2022 crash and the effect of the FTX collapse. The whale was mostly active on the spot market, with no positions on derivative exchanges or Hyperliquid from the original accumulation address. 

The whale’s wallet held for years with no new accumulation. After years of waiting, the whale’s first sale happened on October 2, 2025, just before one of the market’s biggest liquidation events. 

The whale then sold some of the remaining ETH at the end of November. Later, all the remaining tokens were sold, with one 26,000 ETH deposit to Bitstamp leaving the wallet with a final balance of $23. 

Even at that level of deposits, the ETH exchange reserves have barely budged. Even with whale selling, for now, the market still absorbs the additional tokens. 

The reserves on Bitstamp remained NEAR an all-time low, signaling either an OTC trade for the whale. Bitstamp retained around 8.57M ETH in its reserves, down by over 50% since August 2025. 

Whales remain more bullish on ETH

ETH has been predominantly traded by whales, with a mix of profit-taking and accumulation. The recent crowd sentiment is much more bearish compared to smart money or whales. 

$ETH Sentiment

CROWD = Bearish 🟥
MP = Bearish 🟥

Check out sentiment and other crypto stats at https://t.co/HQDyBNv73S pic.twitter.com/a4auZzyd9E

— Market Prophit (@MarketProphit) January 12, 2026

ETH is still flowing into accumulation addresses, as large-scale buyers absorb the short-term selling. Even the OG whale’s selling was compensated by the latest buying from Bitmine, adding 109,504 ETH. 

The recent whale’s actions may be an attempt to take profits during a relatively liquid time in the market. ETH trading volumes recovered to the higher end of their range at around $20B daily, allowing more selling opportunities.

Bitstamp does not offer an ETH premium or staking services, and may simply be used to sell on the spot market.

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