A “giant” Ethereum (ETH) whale that has mad over $76 million in profit from investing in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has restarted accumulating more tokens amid growing speculation that spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will soon start trading in the United States.
According to blockchain analytics firm SpotOnChain, this “giant whale” has recently withdrawn 7,000 ETH worth over $26 million from leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance at around $3,800 per coin, after withdrawing most of their ETH during last year’s bear market, and depositing it back onto the centralized exchange once the price rose.
The whale currently holds 36,785 ETH worth over $140 million and is sitting on a profit of around $76.6 million.
As CryptoGlobe reported, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unexpectedly permitted spot Ether exchange-traded funds for Ether last month in a surprising move that saw the price of ETH soar over 25% as the market was expecting a rejection.
Investors are likely to be encouraged by the successful debut of US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, which have accumulated billions in assets at a rapid pace, to the point BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) became the fastest ETF to hit $20 billion in assets in just 144 days, with the runner-up having done so in over 900 days.
Adding to this whale accumulation has been growing, as according to an analyst from cryptocurrency analytics firm CryptoQuant, over 800,000 ETH worth around $3 billion has moved off of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in little over a week.
The analyst noted that institutions preparing for a spot Ethereum ETF to start trading in the United States could be behind the centralized exchange outflows in a bid to meet the potential demand from investors for such a fund.
Notably IntoTheBlock, a cryptocurrency intelligence firm, has noted that whale accumulation has recently intensified, with 41% of the supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency now being held by addresses with more than 1% of its total circulating supply, up from 36% at the beginning of the year.
Per the firm, the trend highlights the increasing confidence in ETH among large holders.
Featured image via Unsplash.
