Ethereum Foundation Moves to Liquidate $6 Million in ETH Amid Bearish Pressure

The Ethereum Foundation has continued its trend of transferring ETH tokens to external wallets for liquidation amid market volatility.

In its latest move, on-chain data indicates a series of significant transactions involving millions of dollars to the Bitstamp exchange. Specifically, a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation deposited 2,500 ETH, valued at approximately $6.06 million, into the Bitstamp exchange today. This transfer was split into two transactions of 1,250 ETH each.

The first transaction occurred at 08:14:35 AM UTC, followed by a second at 08:19:23 AM UTC.

The Foundation’s decision to send this substantial amount of ETH tokens to a centralized exchange has led to speculation that it may intend to sell. This move comes at a time when Ethereum is battling bearish pressure. Specifically, ETH has crashed by 3% today.

Notably, the wallet tied to the Foundation had previously received 51,251 ETH from the Ethereum Foundation in November 2015, valued at $51,200 at that time. Remarkably, its value has since increased to approximately $124.5 million.

Increasing Ethereum Sales by ICO Participants

The movement of ETH from the Ethereum Foundation coincides with sales by an Ethereum ICO participant holding 150,000 ETH. This individual received their ETH during Ethereum’s Genesis block event at $46,500 and has been steadily selling their holdings in recent weeks. 

Since September 22, this whale has offloaded 45,000 ETH for a total of $113.2 million at an average price of $2,516 per ETH. Notably, the ICO participant sold another 19,000 ETH on October 3, earning approximately $47.54 million from that transaction alone.

Despite these sales, the individual still holds a substantial amount of 94,500 ETH, valued at around $230.2 million.

Ongoing Liquidation Pattern by Ethereum Entities

The Ethereum Foundation has been consistently linked to the sale of its ETH holdings in recent months. A report on September 30 revealed that the Foundation, along with co-founder Vitalik Buterin, sold a combined 749 ETH, valued at approximately $1.98 million, over a 24-hour period. 

Additionally, on September 9, the Foundation converted $1.029 million worth of ETH into stablecoins, further contributing to its liquidation tally.

According to Lookonchain data, the Foundation continued these transactions throughout September, selling a total of 3,766 ETH, or $10.46 million, during the month. A separate sale of 300 ETH on September 21 brought in $763,000 at an average price of $2,543 per ETH.