TLDR
- Ethereum ICO whale moves $5M in ETH to Kraken as ETH nears all-time high.
- Over $24M in ETH sold by ICO whales amid Ethereum’s price surge toward $5,000.
- Ethereum ICO whales offloading ETH, signaling potential market correction as price peaks.
- ETH futures open interest hits $66B, increasing risk of short positions and selling pressure.
An Ethereum ICO participant has transferred another 1,060 ETH, worth over $5 million, to Kraken as the price of Ethereum nears its all-time high. This marks the latest in a series of transfers to the exchange by the same whale.
Over the past few days, the whale has sent approximately $24.1 million worth of ETH to Kraken, signaling the potential for more selling as the cryptocurrency approaches record prices.
Ethereum’s recent price rally has brought the token within 3% of its previous all-time high of around $4,868. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at approximately $4,718, having climbed 23% in the past week.
This surge has prompted some ICO participants to liquidate their holdings, including several notable whales.
Multiple Transfers and Total Holdings
The latest transfer, made on Thursday, brings the total amount of ETH moved by the whale in the last few days to more than 4,000 ETH, worth roughly $24.1 million. This follows previous transfers made earlier this week: 2,000 ETH on Monday, 1,162 ETH on Tuesday, and 1,121 ETH on Wednesday.
As of now, the whale still holds approximately 4,657 ETH, which is valued at around $21.9 million, according to Arkham data.
The Ethereum ICO address, starting with “0x815,” initially received 100,000 ETH for just $31,100 during the ICO back in 2014. Today, that ETH is worth a staggering $471 million.
Despite the recent sell-off, the whale continues to hold over 50,000 ETH across various wallets, maintaining a significant position in the Ethereum market.
More ICO participants are selling ETH
This whale is not the only Ethereum ICO participant offloading ETH as the price nears all-time highs. Another participant transferred 2,300 ETH, valued at $9.9 million, to Kraken earlier this week.
This whale originally received 20,000 ETH for just $6,200 during the ICO, and now those holdings are worth roughly $94 million. After the latest sale, this address still holds about 1,623 ETH, worth approximately $7.6 million.
The Ethereum ICO, which ran from July 22 to September 2, 2014, raised about $18.3 million and sold over 60 million ETH at an average price of $0.31 per ETH. The ICO contributed significantly to Ethereum’s development, and the funds raised helped launch the blockchain in 2015.
As of today, the total supply of ETH is over 120 million tokens, with 83% of the initial 72 million ETH distributed to ICO participants.
Potential Price Movement and Market Santiment
Ethereum’s recent price surge has prompted various analyses of the potential for future price movements. Popular analyst Ali Martinez notes that Ethereum whale activity surged to the highest level in a month.
Ethereum $ETH whale activity surges to the highest level in a month! pic.twitter.com/e7v0Nbwonl
— Ali (@ali_charts) August 14, 2025
According to Martinez, if ETH targets $5,200 and $6,400, it could risk rising to around a new all-time high. However, sentiment in the market remains positive, driven by early altcoin season optimism and the significant inflows into Ethereum ETFs and treasuries.
Despite the bullish outlook, some traders are expecting profit-taking as Ethereum approaches its previous all-time high. The significant increase in Ethereum futures open interest, which recently hit a new all-time high of $66 billion, could also lead to more short positions and selling pressure.
Notably, some whales, including well-known trader MachiBigBrother, have opened short positions as the price approaches the $4,700 range.
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