Early Bitcoin whales have resurfaced with significant moves, transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency between Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to data from Onchain Lens, a wallet that withdrew 14,837 BTC ($94.9 million) seven years ago recently deposited 660 BTC into the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid over the past 20 hours.
Whales sold off most of their holdings and then opened leveraged long positions in Ethereum.
Whales transferred $45.5M of BTC to ETH on Hyperliquid.
New activity shows that an additional 400 BTC ($45.5 million) was deposited into Hyperliquid, with funds being converted to ETH on the spot market.
Subsequently, the whales bridged ETH back to the Ethereum mainnet, solidifying a holding of 11,744 ETH worth $50.6 million.
On-chain data shows that the ongoing bets are even larger. Whales have opened long positions totaling 68,130 ETH ($295 million) across four different wallets using 3x and 10x leverage.
Screenshots shared by Onchain Lens show that each open position is valued between $90 million and $99 million.
New activity highlights a broader shift in whale behavior this cycle, as some long-term Bitcoin holders turn to Ethereum with the momentum in the ETH market accelerating.
Ethereum has recently surged alongside Bitcoin, attracting the attention of whales seeking higher upside potential in the leveraged derivatives market.
It was reported that after a wave of forced liquidations and massive sell-offs from ETF giants BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, Ethereum plummeted to $4,063 on Wednesday, with these giants selling off over $422 million worth of ETH in just 24 hours.
This has shaken investor confidence and sparked debates about whether Ethereum's 200% increase over the past few months has finally lost momentum.
Data from SoSoValue shows that this withdrawal marks the third consecutive day of outflows from the ETF, totaling $678 million over three trading days.
Fidelity led with a redemption amount of $156 million, followed by Grayscale with $122 million, while the sell-offs from Bitwise, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton were smaller but significant.
Despite a brief recovery to around $4,063 after testing the $4,223 level, pressure remains high.
As ETH skyrockets, Ethereum investors will turn back to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow reportedly stated that Ethereum's recent rebound could trigger a reversal, with capital eventually flowing back to Bitcoin.
The CEO of Bitcoin adoption company Jan3, Mow, claims that many long-term ETH holders, especially early insiders from the ICO era, already own a significant amount of Bitcoin.
According to him, these investors are rotating BTC into ETH to 'push it toward a new narrative,' such as the emergence of Ethereum treasury companies.
Once the price rises sufficiently, he predicts they will sell their ETH, leaving a 'new generation of holders' and turning profits back to Bitcoin. 'In the long run, no one wants ETH,' he said.
