The co-founder of Ethereum has been selling ETH nonstop as the bearish momentum in the crypto market deepens.
By Wahid Pessarlay
Editor Hamza Tariq
Updated
2 mins read
Ethereum ETH $1 959 24h volatility: 8.7% Market cap: $236.85 B Vol. 24h: $57.30 B continues its bearish momentum toward the $2,000 mark as selling pressure persists from multiple sides.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has been selling the leading altcoin as the price fell into the $2,300 territory.
vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) is dumping $ETH fast!
Over the past 3 days, Vitalik has sold 2,961.5 $ETH($6.6M) at an average price of $2,228 — and the selling is still ongoing.https://t.co/Q9G1lEsdiP pic.twitter.com/C1vBn5UimJ
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 5, 2026
According to data from Lookonchain, Buterin sold 2,961.5 ETH for $6.6 million over the past three days. His average selling price is $2,228.
Spot ETH exchange-traded funds in the US have seen strong outflows since January 20, with very few inflows.
According to data from Farside, spot ETH ETFs registered a net outflow of $79.4 million on February 4, led by ETHA’s, a BlackRock investment product, $58.9 million sale.
On the other hand, some investors and whales have been accumulating Ethereum despite the dominant bearish momentum. A
Leading centralized crypto exchanges recorded a net outflow of 143,640 ETH, worth $335 million.
Following the bloodbath in crypto prices, the decentralized finance sector has also witnessed a downfall.
According to data from DefiLlama, the DeFi total value locked decreased by 3.4% in 24 hours to $99.8 billion, a level last seen in May 2025.
The leading protocols Aave AAVE $112.4 24h volatility: 8.0% Market cap: $1.71 B Vol. 24h: $760.72 M and Lido LDO $0.36 24h volatility: 10.2% Market cap: $303.68 M Vol. 24h: $51.01 M recorded 4.5% and 7% declines in their TVLs, respectively.
With the falling prices, traders who have been betting on price falls have seen significant gains.
For example, Lookonchain data shows that a whale on Hyperliquid HYPE $31.97 24h volatility: 5.0% Market cap: $7.59 B Vol. 24h: $994.47 M , calling it the “super short 0x20c2,” made a $102.7 million profit by betting against ETH.
This is a party for the shorts!
The $ETH super short 0x20c2 has made $102.7M by shorting $ETH.
The $SOL super short 0x35d1 has made $55.5M by shorting $SOL, $BTC, and $ETH.https://t.co/kY8l74stCOhttps://t.co/nkUzama0zb pic.twitter.com/WySYPKXShe
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 5, 2026
Another whale gained $55.5 million by shorting Bitcoin HYPE $31.97 24h volatility: 5.0% Market cap: $7.59 B Vol. 24h: $994.47 M , ETH and Solana SOL $84.71 24h volatility: 8.3% Market cap: $47.99 B Vol. 24h: $9.52 B .
ETH is down 29% in the last seven days and trading at $2,100 at the time of writing. Despite the selloff, the top altcoin is seeing increased trader activity, as its daily trading volume has increased by 11% to $51 billion.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Wahid has been analyzing and reporting on the latest trends in the decentralized ecosystem since 2019. He has over 4,000 articles to his name and his work has been featured on some of the leading outlets including Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Cointelegraph, and Benzinga. Other than reporting, Wahid likes to connect the dots between DeFi and macro on his newsletter, On-chain Monk.
