A billionaire Bitcoin whale is liquidating his recent Ether long positions and acquiring hundreds of millions in spot Ether, indicating that major investors anticipate further gains from the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Last week, a Bitcoin whale with assets exceeding $11 billion sold 22,769 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $2.59 billion, reallocating the funds into 472,920 spot Ether (ETH) worth $2.2 billion, as well as a $577 million Ether perpetual long position on the decentralized platform Hyperliquid, according to Cointelegraph.
On Monday, the whale exited $450 million of his perpetual long position at an average Ether price of $4,735, securing $33 million in profits, and then purchased an additional $108 million in spot Ether, as reported by blockchain intelligence platform Lookonchain.
“He still maintains 40,212 $ETH ($184M) longs, with unrealized profits exceeding $11M,” Lookonchain noted in a Monday X post.
Traders often monitor significant whale actions to assess short-term market trends.
Demand for Ether among whales has surged over the past month, as Ether’s price climbed nearly 25%, contrasting Bitcoin’s 5.3% drop over the same period, according to TradingView data.
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Analysts, including Willy Woo, attribute last week’s Bitcoin decline to these whale rotations, which brought Bitcoin down to $112,000.
On Sunday, Bitcoin dropped nearly 2.2% from $114,666 at 7:31 pm UTC to $112,546 in just nine minutes, reaching a low of $112,174 at 8:16 pm UTC.
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Ether may aim for $5.2K during Bitcoin’s stagnation, Bitget CEO suggests
While Bitcoin may lack momentum in the coming weeks, this could allow capital to shift into Ether, suggesting potential new all-time highs, according to Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume.
“Ethereum’s surge past $4,300 reflects strong ecosystem demand and the likely onset of an altcoin season,” Chen told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Bitcoin is anticipated to trade within the $110,000–$120,000 bracket over the next week or two, while Ethereum appears stronger, with price targets between $4,600 and $5,200.”
Chen labeled Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s “unexpectedly dovish remarks” as a “key catalyst” for enhancing risk appetite among crypto investors.
“On-chain data indicates a rotation of capital, with whales selling Bitcoin to increase their Ethereum holdings, which is further propelling ETH’s momentum,” she stated.
Chen’s remarks followed Powell’s speech at the annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole on Friday, where he suggested that interest-rate reductions could resume in September.
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