The price of Ether once surged over 500% in the months after a huge Ethereum Foundation sale of ETH, according to blockchain tracing firm Arkham Intelligence — but there’s no telling what will happen this time.
“The Ethereum Foundation famously sold the top in both May and November 2021. But in 2020, they sold 100K ETH, right before ETH pumped 6x, said Arkham in an Aug. 25 X post.
The Ethereum Foundation sent around 35,000 Ether (ETH) worth $96 million to a wallet identified as a Kraken exchange deposit address on Aug. 23 at 5:26 pm UTC.
Arkham data shows that on Dec. 17, 2020, the Ethereum Foundation sold around 100,000 ETH worth roughly $63 million at a price of $635.
Five months later, on May 12, 2021, the price surged to a high of $4,182. Later that year, on Nov. 10, it hit a cycle high of $4,891.70.
Ether experienced a price surge following a significant sale by the Ethereum Foundation in 2020. Source: Arkham Intelligence
“Last night, they sent another 35K ETH to Kraken, worth $95M. Did they get it right this time?” Arkham postulated.
Ethereum Foundation sheds light on 35,000 ETH transfer
Amid speculation over the transfer, Ethereum Foundation executive director Aya Miyaguchi took to X to clarify it was part of “treasury management activities.”
In an X post, Miyaguchi said the transfer was to help balance the books and was not “equal to a sale.”
According to Miyaguchi, the Ethereum Foundation has a budget of $100 million annually, comprised of grants and salaries, but some can only accept payment in fiat currencies.
“This year, there was a long period of time when we were advised not to do any treasury activities due to the regulatory complications, and we were not able to share the plan in advance,” she said.
Going forward, there will likely be “planned and gradual sales,” he added.
Source: Aya Miyaguchi
The price of ETH has been mostly stable over the last few days. At its lowest point on Aug. 24, it was around $2,656. The price spiked to $2,808 the following day and settled at around $2,743 on Aug. 26.
This latest transfer comes a month after a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation transferred roughly 92,000 ETH worth over $253 million at current prices to an unidentified wallet.
An unknown entity transferred a huge chunk of Ether back in July. Source: Etherscan
The address had not moved in seven years, and the foundation still hasn’t publicly explained who was responsible for the transfer and why.
On May 6, 2023, the Ethereum Foundation made another notable transaction, transferring nearly $30 million in Ether to Kraken.
The price fell 4.8% to $1,900 on the day, but the decline was negligible amid a wider recovery trend at the time.
According to Arkham, the Ethereum Foundation still holds around 273,000 ETH worth over $751 million at current prices.
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