The latest whale trend indicates that long-term holders of BTC are turning to ETH. One whale purchased $2.5 billion worth of ETH and immediately sent it for staking.
Whales may have transferred BTC funds into ETH for the first time in years. According to Arkham Intelligence, a large ETH holder purchased tokens worth $2.5 billion. This well-known whale bought these tokens from Hyperunit's hot wallet and immediately sent them out for staking. This event has drawn close attention from cryptocurrency traders, as even long-term BTC holders are showing a willingness to sell and switch to ETH.
The increase in purchases by ETH whales has raised the inflow of the validator queue, as a large entity acquired $2.5 billion worth of ETH and sent it for staking. | Source: Validator Queue.
Subsequently, this whale immediately sent ETH to the staking platform, increasing the validator queue by over 450,000 ETH. Currently, another 906,000 ETH is waiting to be withdrawn, as the beacon chain contract remains largely balanced.
Due to the trading volume between BTC and ETH, this ratio has risen to nearly a year-high, exceeding 0.042 BTC. The dominance of ETH remains at 13.8%, while BTC has fallen back to 56.6%. Although ETH has not reached a historical high, its price remains above $4,400.
Whales are buying ETH on the dip.
BTC has seen capital outflows for six consecutive days, and Cryptopolitan has noted that funds have recently flowed out of ETPs. However, for ETH, both institutional and anonymous investors are buying on the dip.
On-chain data shows that BlackRock has been buying the dip, while Grayscale has also added BTC and ETH to its balance.
The amount of ETH in accumulation addresses is also growing vertically, indicating strong demand for the actual tokens. Unlike BTC, most ETH transactions are highly transparent and reflected through on-chain transfers. There are very few doubts about the 'paper ETH' in circulation. Although the derivatives market still influences ETH prices, spot demand remains strong due to the need for staking and lending deposits.
ETH is in high demand because it has the potential to rise to higher ranges, serve as a store of value, and provide passive income and lending opportunities. Other whales also hold significant amounts of ETH, preparing for a larger altcoin market.
Hyperliquid has become a trading venue for whale ETH transactions.
The recent spot buying of ETH comes from Hyperliquid's Hyperunit spot service. An institution used Hyperliquid to purchase ETH spot across multiple wallets and opened derivative positions. On-chain data shows that in the past few days, two major institutions have bought large amounts of ETH while also opening long positions on Hyperliquid. Other anonymous whales also hold significant long positions in ETH, with the largest having a nominal value of $227.7 million.
The recent shift towards ETH is particularly notable as it has utilized relatively older holdings, some of which date back to long-held whale wallets. This change in purchasing behavior further undermines the assertion that BTC will fully absorb demand and replace ETH.
Due to the increased demand for spot trading, Hyperliquid's 24-hour trading volume has also reached a new high. As of August 25, the platform's daily trading volume reached $3.4 billion. The exchange's total open contracts have rebounded to over $14 billion. The influx into Hyperliquid after the recent cryptocurrency crash is also seen as a sign of increased market confidence and preparation for a new round of market fluctuations.
