Major Whale Dumps $2.6B in Bitcoin to Buy $2.2B of Ethereum

A long-time Bitcoin whale shifted focus to Ethereum, selling 22,769 BTC (≈$2.59B) on Hyperliquid over the past five days. The whale used proceeds to acquire 472,920 ETH (≈$2.22B) and opened a 135,265 ETH ($577M) long position. Ethereum reached a new all-time high of $4,953 on Aug. 24 before pulling back to $4,630. By contrast, Bitcoin trades below $112,000, far from its $124,457 peak. Institutional interest in ETH remains strong, with ETH-related funds seeing $625M in net inflows over two days, while USD BTC ETFs reported six straight days of outflows. Leading DeFi protocols on Ethereum, including Lido and AAVE, also hit record TVL. This whale move underscores growing bullish momentum in Ethereum amid market-wide BTC selloff.
Bullish
The whale’s substantial shift from Bitcoin into Ethereum signals growing confidence in ETH’s price trajectory. Selling over $2.6B of BTC during a market-wide Bitcoin selloff and redirecting funds into 472,920 ETH and a $577M ETH long demonstrates institutional-scale demand. This large-scale reallocation typically acts as a bullish catalyst, similar to past events when whale accumulations preceded major price surges. Additionally, net inflows of $625M into ETH-related products contrast with consecutive outflows from USD Bitcoin ETFs, reinforcing capital rotation into Ethereum. Record highs in DeFi protocols like Lido and AAVE further underscore strong network demand. In the short term, this could drive positive sentiment and increased volatility around ETH’s price. Over the long term, sustained institutional interest and robust DeFi growth point to a continued bullish outlook for Ethereum.