Ethereum Whale Cashes Out: 501 ETH Dumped After 2-Year Hold of 8,052 ETH ($20.43M Bag)

Crypto whale unloads partial stack—was this a strategic exit or cold feet?

After quietly sitting on a $20M+ Ethereum position since 2023, a major player just made their move. The sale of 501 ETH barely dents their remaining 8,052 ETH hoard, leaving traders guessing: profit-taking or prelude to bigger dump?

Timing raises eyebrows—while some hodlers wait for ETF-driven price pumps, this whale took chips off the table. Classic ''buy the rumor, sell the news'' behavior from the smart money playbook.

Funny how ''long-term holding'' in crypto still means just two years. Wall Street would call that day-trading with extra steps.

• Ethereum Whale sells 501 ETH ($1.29M) after 2 years of dormancy and still holds 8,052 ETH ($20.43M).
• Another ICO-era whale moves 2,000 ETH ($5.13M) to Binance after 10 years inactive.
• Ethereum price swings sharply, rallying 6.65% to $2,680 before falling 5% to $2,580.

The ethereum market is witnessing renewed activity from long-dormant whale wallets, as early adopters who had held their tokens for years are beginning to liquidate large portions of their holdings. According to the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, at least two major Ethereum whales have recently reactivated after years of dormancy and have started offloading substantial amounts of ETH, adding new selling pressure to the market.

An #Ethereum OG sold another 501 $ETH($1.29M) an hour ago after being dormant for 2 years and still holds 8,052 $ETH($20.43M).https://t.co/5kekTXIaZC pic.twitter.com/4PLBTbkS7h

One of these whales, referred to as an Ethereum “OG,” had been inactive for roughly two years before returning to sell portions of their holdings. Initial movements included a test transfer of 1 ETH, followed by a significantly larger transfer of 500 ETH valued at approximately $1.29 million at current prices to exchanges for sale.

This is not the first time this particular wallet has sold during its sporadic awakenings. In 2023, the same whale unloaded two sizeable batches of 2,286 ETH and 1,500 ETH, pocketing around $4.32 million and $2.83 million respectively. The repeated reactivation of such wallets signals potential profit-taking as ETH continues to trade at elevated levels compared to its early years.

Ethereum Whale Moves $5.13M ETH After 10 Years Dormant

In an even more notable case, another early investor who participated in Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) in 2014 has finally moved their holdings after nearly a decade of inactivity. This individual transferred a total of 2,000 ETH worth around $5.13 million to the Binance exchange for sale.

The #Ethereum ICO participant who had been dormant for nearly 10 years has deposited all 2,000 $ETH($5.13M) into #Binance in the past 2 days.

He spent $620 to buy 2,000 $ETH 10 years ago — now cashing out for $5.13M, an 8,270x return.https://t.co/vUenJf7XxA pic.twitter.com/cZoDacx3vI

Such movements by ICO-era holders often generate significant attention within the crypto community, as their decisions to liquidate may be influenced by broader market sentiment or personal financial goals, particularly in periods of heightened volatility.

The recent whale activity comes at a time when Ethereum’s price is showing increased volatility. On Sunday, ETH experienced a sharp 6.65% rally, briefly reaching the $2,680 mark. However, by Monday, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap had retraced, falling over 5% to hover around $2,565 at the time of writing.

This price dip coincided with a wave of outflows from newly launched spot Ethereum ETFs, which had previously been seen as a bullish catalyst for ETH. On June 16, cumulative net outflows from these ETFs totaled nearly $10 million. The Fidelity ETH Fund ETF alone experienced the largest single-day outflow, losing 3,496 ETH worth approximately $9.03 million. Invesco Galaxy saw withdrawals of 172 ETH ($444,392), while Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust and Mini Trust registered smaller outflows.

June 16 Update:

10 #Bitcoin ETFs
NetFlow: +2,864 $BTC(+$305.87M)🟢#iShares(Blackrock) inflows 2,272 $BTC($242.6M) and currently holds 671,795 $BTC($71.74B).

9 #Ethereum ETFs
NetFlow: -3,748 $ETH($9.84M) 🔴#Fidelity outflows 3,496 $ETH($9.18M) and currently holds 465,263… pic.twitter.com/f5PH5lbyXB

Ethereum ETFs Gain 191K ETH Despite Whale Selling

Despite the daily outflows, the broader weekly ETF netflows remain positive, suggesting that institutional interest in Ethereum has not entirely cooled. Over the past week, net inflows reached 191,057 ETH, indicating ongoing investor appetite amid short-term price fluctuations.

The re-emergence of long-dormant whales selling their Ethereum holdings, combined with fluctuating ETF flows, highlights the complex forces currently shaping the ETH market. While long-term holders continue to cash out portions of their massive gains, institutional investors remain cautiously optimistic, as evidenced by positive weekly ETF inflows.

As ETH navigates this uncertain environment, traders and investors will be closely watching for signs of continued whale selling, regulatory developments, and broader market sentiment shifts that could define Ethereum’s next major move.

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