In today’s Ethereum news, it appears that whales, those holding at least one million ETH, are growing in a way that hasn’t happened since 2016. In fact, it appears that Ethereum whales now hold 32.3% of the total available supply of ETH.
Summary
- Ethereum news: Billionaire whales now hold 32.3% of total ETH supply
- Ethereum news: Whales rise but Foundation sells 1700 ETH in USDC
- ETH vs. BTC: the price over the weekend and today
Ethereum news: Billionaire whales now hold 32.3% of total ETH supply
According to crypto analytics firm Santiment, it appears that Ethereum’s whale addresses, thoseholding at least 1 million ETH, now hold 32.3% of the total available supply.
🐋 #Ethereum’s whale addresses in the #billionaire tier (holding at least 1M $ETH) now hold 32.3% of the available supply for the first time since 2016. Yesterday’s transactions valued at $1M+ also had its 2nd highest day in 5 weeks. History is being made. https://t.co/sywdtn14k5 pic.twitter.com/SdbSrChJCf
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) October 17, 2023
“For the first time since 2016, #Ethereum’s whale addresses at the #billion level (with at least 1 million ETH) now hold 32.3% of the available supply. Yesterday was the second highest day in 5 weeks for transactions over $1M. History is being made”
This milestone appears to be happening for the first time since 2016, a full 7 years ago.
Not only that, but Santiment points out that another record was set on Monday. In fact, Ether transactions over $1 million recorded the second highest day in 5 weeks.
Ethereum news: Whales rise but Foundation sells 1700 ETH in USDC
While the number of ETH held by Ethereum’s whales seems to be increasing, a week ago the Foundation sold 1700 ETH for USDC 2.76 million.
This move by the Ethereum Foundation caused the price of ETH to fall by -3% in those 24 hours.
The transaction by the non-profit organisation behind the smart contract crypto par excellence was carried out via Uniswap’s DEX (or decentralised crypto-exchange).
Of course, there was no shortage of related commentary suggesting that the sale of ETH in USD coin was done to be in line with the foundation’s ongoing operations, including research grants.
ETH vs. BTC: the price over the weekend and today
While Bitcoin (BTC) has gained +5% over the last seven days, ETH is more or less at the same level as a week ago.
In practice, BTC saw a surge over the weekend, taking the price from $27,000 to $28,877 on Monday. At the time of writing, BTC is worth $28,583.
ETH, on the other hand, also saw a pump over the weekend, taking its price from $1,500 to $1614 on Monday. Unfortunately, this price has been retraced and at the time of writing ETH is worth $1581.
Ethereum is still a long way off its early October price of $1730.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has surpassed its own early October price of $28,500.
