Ancient Ethereum Whale Moves 7,000 ETH to Exchange Kraken

• A crypto whale, active since Ethereum’s 2015 ICO, recently transferred 7,000 ETH valued at US$24 million.
• Initially, the whale purchased 254,900 ETH for just US$79,200, achieving an extraordinary 1,115,600% return due to a 76% price increase last year.
• ETH is expected to see substantial future inflows with the anticipated ETF approvals.

What a rare sighting. Yes, whale alerts aren’t unusual in crypto, and sometimes it’s just exchanges making a re-shuffle, but this is different.

Related: Supreme Court Ends Chevron Deference, Deals Blow to SEC’s ‘Crypto by Enforcement’ Strategy

A whale, which has been in the space since 2015 when ETH did its initial coin offering (ICO), has just moved 7,000 ETH worth US$24 million (AU$36.2 million). The whale – who probably wanted to cash in on the recent ETH price rally – still holds around 40,000 ETH.

The whale first purchased 254,900 ETH during the ICO for a total of just US$79,200 (AU$119,015). With the ETH price appreciating 76% in the past year alone, the investment led to a staggering return of 1,115,600% since the ICO.

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Ethereum ETFs Delayed, Yet Expected to See Large Inflows

With the approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) around the corner, the price of ETH has further upside potential, analysts believe. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said in late June that $US15 billion (AU$22.5 billion) could flow into these funds.

However, Hougan added that the inflows are not going to happen overnight. He expects it will take around 18 months to see such a sum move into the Ether funds.

The funds, initially expected in early July, have now been delayed, with a July 8 deadline for filings due, analysts believe we could see these funds trading in mid to late July.

Germany, US Move More Crypto

In other whale-related news, two governments continue to move millions of crypto. As reported earlier, the German Government moved close to US$195 million (AU$292.8 million) in Bitcoin to exchanges, while the US transferred some US$241.22 million (AU$362.82 million).

The funds are part of a much larger stash of BTC seized from illegal activities.

Now, both Germany and the United States are again actively transferring large amounts of Bitcoin, as data from Arkham Intelligence shows.

German Government crypto holdings, source: Arkam Intelligence

Related: ATO Cracks Down: Crypto Profits Under Scrutiny as Aussies Lodge Tax Returns

On Monday, German government-associated wallets moved US$94.94 million (AU$ 142.64 million) worth of BTC, distributing 1,500 BTC across various accounts. This included 200 BTC to Bitstamp, 100 BTC to Coinbase, 100 BTC to Kraken, and 1,100 BTC to two unidentified wallets.

The US is also moving Bitcoin, echoing Germany’s cryptocurrency activities.