Crypto Whale Makes Power Move: Pulls 40K ETH from Binance, Shifts to Aave for Strategic Play

Crypto whales are shaking the market again—this time with a massive 40,000 ETH withdrawal from Binance. Where’d it go? Straight into Aave, defying exchange liquidity and signaling a high-stakes DeFi bet.

Why Aave? The whale’s playbook suggests leveraged yield farming or collateralized borrowing—classic moves when big money smells blood in the water. Meanwhile, Binance’s order books just got 40K ETH lighter overnight.

Finance traditionalists are clutching their pearls—after all, who needs banks when you can park eight figures in a code-powered money market? Ethereum’s deflationary mechanics just got another stress test. Buckle up.

The Long ETH method

The whale’s strategy is a clear recursive leveraging model aimed at going “Long ETH.” The process involves a repeated loop, which includes depositing existing Wrapped Ether (WETH) holdings into AAVE as collateral. Next, borrowing stablecoins, primarily USDC and USDT, against the WETH collateral.

Then, the whale transferred the borrowed stablecoins to centralized exchanges, such as Binance. More ETH was purchased with the stablecoins. The loop ends with the withdrawal of the newly purchased ETH and redepositing it into Aave as WETH collateral, restarting the loop and thereby borrowing even more funds.

The “Long ETH Model” or “Recursive Leveraged Long ETH Strategy” is applied to DeFi for increasing one’s exposure to Ethereum (ETH) without the addition of fiat currency or any capital beyond the deposit.

The objective is to bet that the price of ETH will increase, while the gains from the price appreciation will outweigh the interest cost paid on the borrowed assets.

Recent purchases by the Whale

The whale has been on a spree, working the recursive leverage model, which includes the borrowing of $170 million in USDT from Aave and immediately sending it to Binance to fund further purchases. 

These recent buys include a withdrawal of 28,262 ETH ($98.59M) and a very recent purchase of 19,508 ETH ($61.03M) from Binance, both supplied as collateral to Aave V3 to maintain growth. These purchases have pushed the whale’s total Ethereum holdings to over 405,252 ETH, valued at approximately $1.28 billion.

The 40,000 ETH withdrawal results in a reduction in the liquid ETH supply available on centralized exchanges, which typically removes selling pressure. At the same time, the deposit also increases Aave’s Total Value Locked.

While safe at the moment, the MOVE makes the whale vulnerable to any price decline in ETH and poses a liquidation risk to the market in the case of an Ethereum crash.

Current market momentum

This action occurred during a period of bearish momentum for Ethereum. With an increased long exposure, the whale was betting that the market price of ETH WOULD go up and cover most of the interest costs of the borrowed stablecoins. However, in a turn of events, ETH has suffered a price drop of over 3% in the last week. Due to the declining market, the whale has suffered unrealized loss.

Users and investors await the stabilization of Ethereum to continue participating in the market. 

Also Read: Ethereum Eyes $4,000 Breakout As Whales And Institutions Step In