Over 9,500 ETH Sent to Kraken by ICO Wallets: Looming Sell-Off?

• Ethereum’s price is facing strong resistance.
• Amid the recent market stalling, a pair of Ethereum ICO whales have caused a stir with recent asset transfers to Kraken.
• Despite concerns, the asset has also seen significant demand in recent weeks.

Buoyed by the SEC’s recent change of heart on Ethereum ETFs , ETH has experienced a significant rise in the past two weeks to near the $4,000 price point. Amid the battle between bulls and bears near this psychological price level, which is now acting as resistance, a recent move from early Ethereum investors has given market observers pause for thought.

Ethereum ICO Whales Make a Big Splash

On Monday, June 3, two wallets that participated in Ethereum’s initial coin offering in 2014 sent a combined 9,518 ETH worth over $36 million to Kraken , according to on-chain data shared by Lookonchain.

As highlighted by the crypto smart money tracker, both wallets received 100,000 ETH each for about $31,000—a stash now worth over $370 million or over $740 million combined.

Unsurprisingly, the recent transfers have sparked speculation of an impending price sell-off. These fears come as the vast amount of capital controlled by these early investors has a market and sentiment-moving potential. At the same time, exchange deposits are typically indicative of an investor’s intent to sell. These odds of a market dump are further increased by the large unrealized profit held by the entity or entities in question.

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ETH Sell-Off Looming?

While the recent transfer can have a short-term negative effect on ETH’s price if the entity or entities behind them choose to sell, recent on-chain data suggests there is also strong demand for the asset.

As recently highlighted by prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez, crypto investors have withdrawn a staggering 770,000 ETH worth about $3 billion from exchanges since the U.S. SEC approved ETFs backed by the asset. This supply drop comes even as these ETFs are yet to start trading, suggesting a high likelihood that the market could absorb the impact of any potential asset dump resulting from the recent asset transfer.

The recent ICO whale moves come as experts debate whether Ethereum ETFs can launch as successfully as their Bitcoin counterparts . At the time of writing, the asset is trading around the $3,759 price point, representing a nearly 2% decline in the past 24 hours per CoinMarketCap data .

On the Flipside 

• The intent of the entity or entities behind the recent large Kraken deposits remains unclear.
• At current prices, Ethereum is already up over 60% year-to-date (YTD) from an opening price of about $2,280.

Why This Matters

Significant whale movements can impact crypto asset prices. Following these whale actions can provide beneficial insight into market sentiment.

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