An early Ethereum investor sold $34M worth of ETH on Kraken ahead of the upcoming Pectra network upgrade.
A long-term Ethereum-holding whale recently sold 18,700 ETH, valued at approximately $34.11 million. The whale is believed to have acquired Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), during the 2015 Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
This significant offloading of ETH comes at a time when the Ethereum Pectra upgrade is approaching. In anticipation of the upgrade and hard fork, crypto exchanges like Binance have announced temporary suspensions of withdrawals and deposits for Ethereum-based tokens.
The ETH whale originally purchased their cryptocurrency during the 2015 ICO, when each Ether was priced at just $0.31. At that time, the whale acquired approximately 76,000 ETH, and the associated wallet remained dormant for years until recently, when it began transferring ETH to the Kraken exchange.
An on-chain analyst shared the activity on X, revealing that the whale transferred an additional 2,700 ETH, worth around $4.96 million, to Kraken. This move follows a series of significant sell-offs in recent weeks.
Initially, the whale sold 14,000 ETH for $24.75 million and has since continued offloading more in subsequent batches. All of the sales have been conducted through Kraken. Given the original purchase price of $0.31 per ETH, the whale has secured substantial profits from these transactions.
他又来了💦
时隔三天，「2015 年 ICO 7.6 万枚 $ETH 的巨鲸」15 分钟前再次向 #Kraken 充值 2500 ETH（459 万美元），疑似抛售
目前他仍持有 11000 ETH，价值 2020 万美元，成本低至 0.31 美元
钱包地址 https://t.co/gCEEJd0bdW；本文由 #Gateio | @Gateio_zh 赞助 https://t.co/s9WWkPebv5 pic.twitter.com/iLO3ucqyXy
— Ai 姨 (@ai_9684xtpa) May 7, 2025
According to reports, the whale currently holds 11,000 ETH, valued at approximately $20.2 million. However, it remains unclear whether they plan to sell the remaining holdings. If recent activity is any indication, this may not be the final ETH sale from the whale.
Ethereum’s Pectra Update
These sales are occurring as Ethereum approaches a major upgrade, during a period of reduced spot trading volume. The upcoming upgrade is expected to enhance the network’s overall functionality by introducing improved scaling capabilities, more efficient staking options, and advanced infrastructure enhancements.
Adding to the market anticipation, the ETH-BTC Bollinger Bands are currently at their tightest since June 2020, a technical signal that often precedes a spike in volatility. Traders are closely watching the ETH-BTC pair, expecting increased price movement following the upgrade.
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