Since the start of the year, Ethereum whales (over 1,000 ETH, ~$1.5m) have reduced their positions by 12 million ETH, while Bitcoin whales (more than 1,000 BTC, ~$26.9m) have been accumulating coins.
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The stark contrast between #Bitcoin and #Ethereum whales.
ETH Whales: 1k ETH or greater, all in a massive downtrend. In the space of a year, we’ve seen 12M ETH offloaded, since 2020, its 20M ETH. #BTC Whales: 1K BTC or greater, all in an aggregate uptrend to flat.… pic.twitter.com/khc5njEbDp
— James V. Straten (@jimmyvs24) October 10, 2023
According to Cryptoslate analyst James V. Straten, the second-largest cryptocurrency remains under substantial selling pressure. Since 2020, major investors have emptied wallets of 20 million ETH (~$31.7 million).
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In an interview with Decrypt, Swan Private Clients head Steven Lubka said the firm had encountered a large number of wealthy individuals looking to swap Ethereum for Bitcoin. As a reason, they often cite regulatory uncertainty, he added.
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Lubka was backed by CEO and co-founder of Amboss Jesse Schrader.
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“Bitcoin provides a simple function: the best money, while Ethereum […] risks losing ground due to smart contracts and critical changes to the hard fork protocol,” — the expert said.
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Senior Messari analyst Kunal Goel questioned the completeness of the Glassnode data referenced by Straten.
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“Does the chart accurately reflect staking? Transfers to the contract may look like on-chain selling, which they are not,” the specialist explained.
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André Dragosch, head of research at Deutsche Digital Assets, agreed with Goel. He called the “drama” of ETH whale selling “blown out of proportion.”
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The analyst noted that Ethereum’s share of smart contracts is growing “in a coordinated manner” and confirmed Glassnode’s methodology regarding how whale positions are calculated.
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?Follow-up on the #Ethereum whale-selling drama
Although it makes for a great narrative around the recent underperformance of $ETH vs $BTC and I admittedly feel a bit of Schadenfreude, it appears to be a nothing burger.
Reason ?
Although, the % of supply held by addresses in… pic.twitter.com/H1ByFBzVFq— André Dragosch | Bitcoin & Macro ⚡ (@Andre_Dragosch) October 10, 2023
Analysts at K33 Research concluded that traders continue to favour Bitcoin.
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On October 8, Ethereum’s median gas price fell to 6.8 Gwei — the lowest level in 2023.
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Earlier, Standard Chartered’s head of research, Jeffrey Kendrick, forecasted the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency to reach $8,000 by the end of 2026.