Whales move from Bitcoin to Ethereum with $2.5B staked

The latest whale moves signal a shift from BTC long-term holders into ETH. One entity bought $2.5B worth of ETH, and immediately sent the tokens for staking. 

Whales may be moving BTC funds into ETH for the first time in years. One big ETH holder bought $2.5B worth of tokens, based on information from Arkham Intelligence. The notable whale bought the tokens from the Hyperunit hot wallet and immediately sent them to await staking. The event was closely watched by crypto traders, as even long-term BTC holders showed readiness to sell and shift to ETH activity.

The whale then immediately sent the ETH for staking, boosting the validator entry queue by over 450K ETH. For now, another 906K ETH await withdrawal, as the Beacon chain contract remains mostly balanced.

As a result of the turnover between BTC and ETH, the ratio rose near a one-year high above 0.042 BTC. ETH dominance also held at 13.8%, while BTC retreated to 56.6%. ETH retained its levels of over $4,400, despite rejecting a new all-time high. 

Whales are buying the dip on ETH

BTC saw a six-day outflow streak, as Cryptopolitan noted recent withdrawals from ETPs. However, when it comes to ETH, both institutional and anonymous whales are buying the dip. 

On-chain data shows BlackRock has been buying the dip, while Grayscale has also added both BTC and ETH to its balances. 

ETH in accumulation addresses is also growing vertically, showing demand for actual tokens. Unlike BTC, most ETH deals are highly transparent and reflected by on-chain transfers. There are few doubts of ‘paper ETH’ in circulation. While the derivative market is still swaying the ETH price, spot demand is also strong, due to the requirement for staking and lending deposits. 

ETH is bought up for its potential to rally to a higher range and serve as a store of value, while also offering passive income and lending opportunities. Other whales are also positioning themselves with significant ETH holdings, in preparation for a larger altcoin market. 

Hyperliquid becomes ETH venue for whales

The recent spot ETH buying originated with Hyperliquid’s Hyperunit spot service. One entity used Hyperliquid to acquire both spot ETH and open derivative positions in multiple wallets. On-chain data shows two major entities buying up ETH in the past days, while also opening long positions on Hyperliquid. Other anonymous whales also hold significant ETH long positions, with the largest one having a notional value of $227.7M.

The recent shift to ETH was even more notable for tapping relatively old holdings, some of which have been traced to ancient whale wallets that held for years. The shift in buying behavior further undermined the narrative that BTC would fully absorb demand and displace ETH. 

As a result of the increased spot trading demand, Hyperliquid also saw a new price record for 24-hour trading volumes. The platform posted $3.4B in daily volumes as of August 25. Total open interest on the exchange is back above $14B. The rush to Hyperliquid is also seen as a proxy for increased belief and preparation for another market move, following the recent crypto slump.

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