In a major move that has gained the attention of the crypto community, 19,037 ETH (worth over $53 million at current prices) has recently exited major crypto exchange Coinbase to a brand new Ethereum wallet.
According to the blockchain data tracker Whale Alert, “19,037 ETH worth $53,538,431 transferred from Coinbase to an unknown new wallet.”
🚨 🚨 🚨 19,037 #ETH (53,538,431 USD) transferred from #Coinbase to unknown new wallethttps://t.co/ntwfu2ibNY
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) February 5, 2025
Bearing in mind that withdrawals from exchanges might reveal buying while deposits refer to selling, a whale or large holder might be accumulating ETH. The receiving wallet being entirely new adds further speculation that a new crypto whale may be entering the market.
The appearance of a potential new whale is not an isolated incident. Over the past few months, Ethereum has seen increased institutional interest, with hedge funds and large investors accumulating ETH.
Other scenarios might be likely. The move might be a reshuffling of funds by Coinbase itself; it is also possible that a crypto whale might be moving off their assets to cold storage to seek more control and protection.
Ethereum price action
The second-largest coin fell slightly as the cryptocurrency markets saw profit-taking on Wednesday. At writing time, ETH had fallen 1.44% in the previous 24 hours to $2788, albeit higher than Monday’s lows of $2150.
Ethereum fell as much as 27% to $2,135 on Monday, its worst intraday drop since May 2021, resulting in liquidations of more than $600 million in perpetual futures markets. The unraveling of leveraged bets on Ethereum made ETH one of the hardest-hit cryptocurrencies in the broader market sell-off, which saw over $2.2 billion in crypto assets liquidated in 24 hours.
As market uncertainty persists, crypto analyst Ali noted that the most important support level for Ethereum is between $2,238 and $2,614, where 12.18 million wallets acquired 63.07 million ETH.
