In a surprising turn of events on October 9, 2023, on-chain data revealed that an Ethereum Foundation-labelled wallet had executed a substantial crypto exchange. The Ethereum Foundation, responsible for managing the Ethereum network, exchanged 1,700 Ethereum (ETH) for approximately 2.76 million USD Coin (USDC) on the Uniswap decentralized exchange (DEX).
On-chain data, as analyzed by Arkham Intelligence, further unveiled that this wallet currently holds a portfolio comprising 240.68 ETH, 3.2 million USDC, 49,700 DAI, and 10,000 ARB tokens, totaling assets worth 3.687 million USD. While the Ethereum Foundation’s actions might not be particularly noteworthy during a time of network stability, they come at a sensitive juncture when the Ethereum blockchain is experiencing a period of “reverse inflation,” marked by significant declines in both NFT and DeFi activities. In the last 30 days alone, the global supply of ETH has surged by nearly 30,000 ETH, equivalent to approximately 47.9 million USD.
The Ethereum Foundation has just sold 1.7K $ETH ($2.76M) for $USDC.
Address:https://t.co/OaZKMXdfBw pic.twitter.com/z5tqZk3eCF
— Scopescan (🪬 . 🪬) (@0xScopescan) October 9, 2023
The purpose behind these transactions by the Ethereum Foundation remains unclear. However, a retrospective look at the wallet’s transaction history reveals a consistent pattern of “negative” impacts on the value of ETH immediately following their actions.
For instance, in May 2023, the Ethereum Foundation moved a total of 15,000 ETH (equivalent to 30 million USD at the time) onto the Kraken exchange. Similarly, in March 2021, the Foundation transferred 28,000 ETH to Kraken, resulting in a subsequent drop in ETH prices within a week. In May of the same year, the transfer of 35,000 ETH to the exchange had an immediate adverse effect on ETH’s value.
The most recent significant sell-off occurred in November 2021 when ETH prices plummeted from a peak of 4,800 USD to approximately 4,300 USD after the Ethereum Foundation transferred 20,000 ETH to Kraken. It appears that Ethereum’s development team had impeccable market timing, choosing to sell at the height of the previous bull run. Notably, Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, joined the trend on October 7th, 2023, when he executed the latest ETH sale, moving 1,000 ETH (worth 1.64 million USD) to the Bitstamp exchange.
vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) related address transferred 1K $ETH ($1.64M) out again, which may be deposited into #Bitstamp.
This address has deposited a total of 4.4K $ETH ($7.23M) to #Bitstamp in the past 2 months.https://t.co/LRrcqoxUhf pic.twitter.com/oO0rEAD6pd
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 7, 2023
These actions by the Ethereum Foundation and its key figures continue to generate speculation within the cryptocurrency community, especially in a time when market dynamics are uncertain. While the Foundation’s motives remain undisclosed, the impact on the Ethereum ecosystem and its native token, ETH, is something that the crypto community will closely monitor in the coming days.
Read more:
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