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Large early Ethereum holders continue to monetize the network's historic success, carefully taking advantage of local waves of market optimism. Two wallets directly linked to the Ethereum Foundation transferred 4,393 ETH (approximately $11.1 million) to the Kraken exchange.
This transaction is not an impulsive move but part of a carefully planned 10-year strategy. Over the past decade, a total of 49,751 ETH has been sent from these addresses to exchanges. The average selling price was a modest $658 by today's standards, although it is worth noting that these coins were originally acquired in the project's early days, when ETH was worth less than a dollar.
Timing vs. ETFs: How the market absorbs millions from early Ether holders
The latest round of distribution has caught the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization in the midst of an important technical showdown. ETH/USD has settled around $2,550, hovering just above its 50-day moving average.
For buyers, this line currently serves as the main short-term shield. As long as the level holds, the market still has a chance to challenge local resistance at $2,651.
Meanwhile, the long-term trend remains intact, with the key 200-day moving average sitting much lower, around $2,136, confirming that the market's broader structure remains bullish.
The main question is whether the market can absorb this volume without significant disruption amid weakness in U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs. By mid-October, institutional investors had shown a clear loss of risk appetite, recording a prolonged nine-day streak of outflows that drained more than $542 million from the funds.
With traditional capital pulling liquidity out of the market, the arrival of additional large batches of coins for sale inevitably creates overhead price pressure.
The Ethereum Foundation has traditionally emphasized that legacy wallets associated with early distributions are unrelated to the foundation's current operating budget. Nevertheless, the timing of the transactions speaks for itself: large volumes are being sent to exchanges precisely when the market offers sufficient liquidity to absorb them.
Approximately 10,000 ETH remains in the balances of the addresses in question. If this batch also starts moving, the psychological $2,500 threshold could fail to hold, quickly shifting the initiative back to the bears and opening the way toward $2,400.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
