One Ethereum whale has caught the attention of the crypto community after a massive deposit to the Binance crypto exchange. While the deposit value itself is notable, the most interesting part of the whole ordeal is the whale’s history and how selling now could trigger a massive loss.
Ethereum Whale $451 Million Withdrawal
On-chain tracker Lookonchain first noticed the Ethereum whale and posted about their activities on November 2. The tracker revealed the whale’s interesting history, including the fact that the whale had withdrawn 123,000 ETH worth $451 million at the time back in the bull market.
When this initial transaction had taken place in 2022, the price of Ethereum was still trending above $3,600. However, with the market decline over the last year, the whale’s holdings had significantly declined in terms of dollar value.
After the $ETH price increased, a whale deposited 10K $ETH($18.5M) to #Binance at a loss again 1 hour ago.
The whale withdrew 123K $ETH ($451M) from exchanges at an average price of $3,672 and deposited 83K $ETH ($186M) to exchanges at $2,246, resulting in a loss of ~$118M. pic.twitter.com/C8xtx4hs4d
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 2, 2023
Fast forward to November 2023 and the price of Ethereum has started to recover, eventually breaking above the $2,000 resistance. The price is still a long way from the $3,672 that is assumed to be the cost price of the tokens. However, the whale seems to want out of this massive position.
Lookonchain reported that the whale had been depositing ETH to the Binance exchange to the tune of 83,000 ETH. Another 10,000 ETH transaction with Binance as the destination was recorded on November 2. Then on November 10, the whale deposited another 30,000 ETH to the Binance crypto exchange once more.
ETH price resting above $2,000 | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com
ETH Whale Set To Lose $180 Million
The most interesting part of the transactions that have been taking place so far is that every single deposit that the Ethereum whale has made has been at a loss. So if the whale is actually depositing these ETH to sell them, then they would be selling almost 50% below their cost price.
As Lookonchain reveals, the whale has now deposited all of the ETH they previously held to the Binance exchange. And going by the current price of ETH, selling now would net the investor a whopping $180 million in losses.
After the price of $ETH increased, this whale deposited all 30,001 $ETH($63.3M) into #Binance just now.
This whale is expected to lose a total of $183M!https://t.co/zZ7z4VImZb pic.twitter.com/gsx7PMnTs7
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 10, 2023
Since the price of ETH had been trading below $2,000 for a long time, it is possible that the whale is looking to exit at what they may consider a good price in case the Ethereum price were to slip back down again. However, given that expectations of a bull run are only about a year away, it raises the question of whether the sale is not premature.
Currently, the ETH price is trading at $2,105, with 10% gains in the last day.