An early Ethereum investor has sold roughly $136 million worth of ether and staked-ether tokens over the past week, adding to the selling pressure already weighing on $ETH near the $2,000 mark.
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Key Takeaways:
- Lookonchain says an Ethereum OG sold 55,000 $ETH and 9,442 wstETH for ~$136M in a week, averaging $2,041.
- The selling adds to ETF outflows, pressuring ether as it tests the key $2,000 support level.
- Other whales are accumulating, with one buying 21,800 $ETH for $47M, signaling split conviction.
A Week of Steady Selling
The wallet, an early participant holding coins since the network’s first years, sold 55,000 $ETH worth about $112.25 million and 9,442 wstETH worth roughly $24 million over the past week. The combined $136 million was offloaded at an average price near $2,041 per $ETH, according onchain data.
The wstETH tokens are a form of wrapped staked ether (wstETH), a liquid version of $ETH locked in the Lido staking protocol. Selling both the liquid and staked portions of a position suggests a holder reducing exposure broadly rather than trimming a single bucket. As an early backer, the seller is likely realizing a substantial profit, given that ether traded far below current levels in its early years.
The disposals land at a delicate moment for ether given Bitcoin.com News reported last week that a separate wallet dumped 20,000 $ETH for $41.18 million in under an hour (as the $2,000 level emerged as a critical support zone). That figure carries technical weight since a decisive break below it could trigger stop-loss cascades and prompt further selling from holders whose coins cost more than $2,000.
Furthermore, the whale activity compounds a stretch of institutional outflows. Spot ether and bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have bled for days, extending a losing streak. Persistent fund redemptions remove a steady source of demand, leaving the market more sensitive to large individual sellers.
Not Everyone Is Selling
The picture is not uniformly bearish. Even as the OG cashed out, an onchain whale accumulated 21,800 $ETH worth about $47 million in a longer-term bet on Ethereum, while another address that sold $24.9 million in ether later bought back $17.5 million as prices stabilized.
For now, the OG’s week-long sell-down is a reminder that some of Ethereum’s earliest backers are willing to realize profits into weakness. Whether that selling exhausts itself or accelerates a break below $2,000 is likely to hinge on whether ETF flows turn and fresh buyers step in to absorb the supply.
