Ethereum has risen more than 9% in the past 24 hours, reaching a 13-week high of $2,880 on November 7.
As this happened, the Ethereum whale, which had been holding more than 11,000 ETH since 2016, appeared to make huge profits.
The whale purchased 11,000 ETH at $3.46.
In February 2016, Ethereum was trading between $2.10 and $6.60 per token. At the time, Lookonchain reported, the address added 11,005 ETH to cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift. The on-chain smart money tracker revealed that tokens were acquired for $3.46 each, for a total cost of $38,000.
Traders have moved millions of dollars in ETH after 8 years. source: Etherscan
Lookonchain said the whale decided to cash out its profits after holding the tokens for over eight years. On November 7, a trader moved 11,005 ETH when the price was $2,777, putting the potential profit at $30.5 million, more than 800 times the initial invested capital.
Specifically, this address would have walked away with more than $52.8 million if they had sold their ETH holdings at the peak of the 2021 bull market, when the price of Ethereum reached an all-time high of $4,800.
Likewise, if ETH had recorded profits in May when it topped $4,000, these holdings would have made about $44 million.
ETH balances on exchanges surge
Selling by whales or institutions often coincides with increased foreign exchange inflows. This time is no different, as ETH held on exchanges has increased over the past seven days from 18.8 million ETH on October 31 to 19.2 million ETH on November 7.
Ethereum holdings on the exchange. Source: CryptoQuant
This rise was especially noticeable between November 5 and 7, when the price of Ethereum exceeded $2,800, indicating that profit-taking was possible in the recent rally.
This may seem bearish for Ether, but a long-term look at exchange balances paints a different picture.
The total number of ETH held on exchanges decreased by 7% in 2024 and is now near an eight-year low, part of a larger trend of declining Ethereum exchange holdings after reaching a high of 35.5 million in June 2020. Yes.
Is Ethereum price ready to break through $4,000?
Despite signs of profit-taking and increased foreign exchange reserves, optimism following Trump’s victory and positive changes in spot Ethereum ETF flows suggest that a bullish breakout for Ethereum may be underway.
“Ethereum price looks set to break above the rising wedge,” cryptocurrency analyst CryptoJack wrote in a post on X on November 7.
He shared the chart below that shows ETH price trying to break out of a rising wedge chart pattern that has persisted since September. CryptoJack said that if the wedge closes decisively above the upper limit, the price will break out towards the $4,000 level.
“Once that happens, there is nothing stopping $ETH from reaching $4,000!”
ETH/USD daily chart. source: CryptoJack
A similar setup was observed by fellow analyst Moon Whales, who noted that ETH would need a lot of volume to confirm a successful breakout “to take further gains and potentially retest higher resistance levels.”
Meanwhile, the 8-hour funding rate for ETH futures soared to 0.022%, the highest since May, according to CoinGlass data. This means there is an increasing risk that your long positions will be liquidated when the price falls.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading activities involve risk and readers should conduct their own research when making any decisions.