ETH once pumped 6X months after a big Ethereum Foundation sale: Arkham

In 2020, the Ethereum Foundation sold 100,000 ETH, and the price surged over 500% in the months following. There’s no telling what will happen this time.

The price of Ether once surged over 500% in the months after a huge Ethereum Foundation sale of ETH, according to blockchain tracing firm Arkham Intelligence — though there’s no telling what will happen this time. 

“The Ethereum Foundation famously sold the top in both May and November 2021. But in 2020, they sold 100K ETH, right before ETH pumped 6x, said Arkham in an Aug. 25 post on X.

It comes as the Ethereum Foundation sent around 35,000 ETH, worth $96 million, to a wallet identified as a Kraken exchange deposit address on Aug. 23 at 5:26 pm. 

Arkham’s data shows that the Ethereum Foundation sold around 100,000 ETH, worth around $63 million at the time, on Dec. 17, 2020, at a price of around $635. 

Five months later, on May 12, 2021, the price surged to a high of $4,182. Later that year, on Nov. 10, it hit a cycle high of $4,891.70. 

“Last night, they sent another 35K ETH to Kraken, worth $95M. Did they get it right this time?” Arkham postulated. 

Ethereum Foundation sheds light on 35K ETH transfer

Amid speculation over the transfer, Ethereum Foundation executive director Aya Miyaguchi took to X to clarify it was part of “treasury management activities.”

In an X post, Miyaguchi said the transfer was to help balance the books and was not “equal to a sale.”

According to Miyaguchi, the Ethereum Foundation has a budget of $100 million annually,  comprised of grants and salaries, but some can only accept payment in fiat currencies. 

“This year, there was a long period of time when we were advised not to do any treasury activities due to the regulatory complications, and we were not able to share the plan in advance,” she said. 

Going forward, there will likely be “planned and gradual sales,” he added. 

The price of Ether has been mostly stable over the last few days. At its lowest point on Aug. 24, Ether was around $2656 before spiking up to $2,808 the following day, settling around $2,743 as of Aug. 26.

This latest transfer comes a month after a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation transferred roughly 92,000 ETH, worth over $253 million at current prices, to an unidentified wallet. 

Until then, the address had not moved in seven years, and the foundation still hasn’t publicly explained who was responsible for the transfer and why. 

On May 6, 2023, the Ethereum Foundation made another notable transaction, transferring nearly $30 million in Ether to the Kraken. 

The price fell 4.8% to $1,900 on the day, but the decline was negligible amid a wider recovery trend at the time.

According to Arkham, the Ethereum Foundation still holds around 273,000 Ether, worth over $751 million at current prices.

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