On August 23, 2024, the Ethereum Foundation transferred 35,000 ETH (~$96 million) to Kraken, fueling market speculation.
According to Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain tracing organization, the price of Ethereum increased by more than 500% in the months following a massive ETH sale by the Ethereum Foundation.
However, it is impossible to predict what will happen to Ether’s price this time around. It is well known that the Ethereum Foundation sold the top cryptocurrency in both May and November of 2021.
Arkham stated in a post on X on August 25 that they sold 100,000 ETH in 2020, just before the price of ETH increased by six times. At about 5:26 p.m. on August 23, the Ethereum Foundation sent approximately 35,000 ETH, which is equivalent to approximately $96 million, to a wallet that was identified as a Kraken exchange deposit address.
According to the data provided by Arkham, the Ethereum Foundation sold around 100,000 ETH on December 17, 2020, at a price of approximately $635. At the time, this amount was equivalent to approximately $63 million.
After another five months, the price reached an all-time high of $4,182 dollars on May 12, 2021. In the latter part of the year, on November 10th, it reached a cycle high of $4,897.10.
They sent an additional 35,000 ETH to Kraken last night, which is worth $95 million. Was it the first time that they got it right? Arkham formulated a hypothesis. Aya Miyaguchi, the executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, took to X to clarify that the move was a part of “treasury management activities”.
Ethereum Foundation Sends 35,000 ETH to Kraken
This came amid speculation surrounding the transfer. Miyaguchi stated in an X post that the transfer was performed in order to assist in balancing the books, and that it was not “equal to a sale”.
According to Miyaguchi, the Ethereum Foundation’s annual budget of one hundred million dollars consists of grants and salaries. However, some of the foundation’s employees are only able to accept payment in fiat currencies.
During the course of this year, there was a considerable amount of time during which we were advised not to engage in any Treasury activities due to the regulatory complications, and we were unable to communicate the plan in advance,” she explained.
Additionally, he stated that going forward, there will most certainly be “planned and gradual sales.” Over the past few days, the price of Ether has remained relatively stable. At its lowest point on August 24, Ether was approximately $2656.
The following day, it skyrocketed to $2,808 and settled at $2,743 as of August 26. Ether’s price fluctuation started on August 24.Around 92,000 ETH, or more than $253 million at the current price, moved from a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation to an unrecognized wallet.
This most recent transfer took place one month later. The address had not changed in seven years prior to that point, and the foundation has not yet released a public statement explaining who was in charge of the change or why.
The Ethereum Foundation carried out yet another significant transaction on May 6, 2023, which involved the transfer of roughly thirty million dollars’ worth of Ether to Kraken.
During the day, the price dropped by 4.8% to $1,900, but the decrease was insignificant in light of the larger recovery trend that was occurring at the time. Arkham reports that the Ethereum Foundation still holds over 273,000 Ether, valued at more than $751 million at the current market.
