Ethereum "Whale" Surrenders After 3 Years, Losses Exceed $19 Million

Analysts examining on-chain data noted this exit by tracking a wallet that had held its Ethereum position since the beginning of 2022. The "whale" accumulated $ETH at an average price of $2,723 through purchases made from February 2022 to March 2023, then placed these assets into staking rather than trading them (a "buy and hold" approach that survived two full bear market cycles).

This week, patience ran out: the wallet sold 7,323 $ETH for approximately $13.96 million, with the average exit price being significantly below the cost basis. Such capitulation is typically observed near local price lows, when even long-term holders decide they can wait no longer.

Selling 7,323 $ETH for $13.96 million implies an exit price of around $1,906 per token, close to Ether's spot price this week (around $1,915), representing a loss of nearly 30% compared to the whale's average cost basis of $2,723 (excluding staking rewards accrued over the years of holding).

Overall, analysts estimate the total realized losses for this wallet exceed $19 million when considering previous partial sales alongside this week's position exit, meaning the rewards were clearly insufficient to offset Ethereum's price decline since early 2022.

Another long-term holder reported in recent weeks that a position bought at $4,311 and never sold cost them approximately $23.8 million after final liquidation, while another Ethereum "veteran" sold $ETH and wstETH worth $136 million when sellers tested the $2,000 level.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital Moved $87 Million in Bitcoin

In a separate transaction noted on the same day, Lookonchain tracked a newly created wallet receiving 1,346 $BTC worth $87.28 million directly from Galaxy Digital. The transfer size and the fact that the funds went to a brand-new address are precisely the details that on-chain trackers claim are classic signs of over-the-counter (OTC) operations.

This year, Galaxy Digital has been exceptionally active as an intermediary in the large-scale Bitcoin operations market among "whales," repeatedly appearing on both sides of major transfers: on one hand, receiving coins from long-dormant addresses in one transaction, and on the other, redistributing bitcoins to new wallets and exchange-linked addresses in others.

In July alone, the company moved roughly 2,500 $BTC to exchange-linked wallets and separately transferred 900 $BTC to a newly created address—actions blockchain observers interpret as treasury management or preparation for OTC deals, rather than direct selling pressure.

Whether this latest transfer of 1,346 $BTC is a purchase for a client, an internal redistribution of custody assets, or the initial stage of a larger distribution will only become clear once the next movement of the recipient wallet appears on the blockchain. We are in for an interesting few days, to say the least!