A Wallet Tied to the Ethereum Foundation Sold $17.8 Million in ETH After a Year Without Moving. Should Holders Worry? - 24/7 Wall St.

Lookonchain, an on-chain tracker monitoring significant wallets known as whales, identified a wallet linked to the Ethereum Foundation that sold 7,594 ETH (worth $17.8 million) after being inactive for a full year. ETH trades at $2,336, up 0.3% in the past 24 hours, though this modest increase belies a difficult month for the cryptocurrency overall.

In October, ETH fell 13.0% and hit its lowest 30-day close at $2,321 on October 26. It is currently trading 52.8% below its all-time high of $4,946 from August 24, 2025. The timing of this sale has raised questions about whether holders should interpret it as a warning sign.

Profit-Taking from Early Investment

According to Lookonchain, the seller behind this wallet initially bought 200,000 ETH for just $61,000 during Ethereum's initial coin offering (ICO). The wallet also received 42,654 ETH, valued at around $590,000 at the time, from the Ethereum Foundation when ETH traded at only $13.82.

The Ethereum Foundation has not confirmed any connection to this wallet, so the link remains speculative based solely on these on-chain transfers. Given the extremely low initial investment cost, the sale appears more like routine profit-taking than a sign of distress.

Public records do not clarify where the sold coins ended up. If transferred to an exchange, they could influence market prices. However, if they went to a private over-the-counter (OTC) desk, there would be minimal impact on public trading.

Larger Market Movements

Spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced net outflows of $60.2 million on October 27, following $88.6 million in outflows on October 26. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust reported $93.3 million in outflows on October 27, being the only fund with outflows that day. All spot Ether ETFs hold about $14.2 billion in ETH.

Notable traders are also reducing their positions. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, announced he closed his directional trades on October 24, taking profits from ETH and other altcoins. Lookonchain estimated Hayes's altcoin sales amount to around $22 million.

Mixed Signals for ETH

On a more positive note, BitMine Immersion Technologies has been acquiring ETH, purchasing 10,452 ETH (approximately $24 million) in its latest update. It now holds 6.05 million ETH, valued at about $14.1 billion.

ETH is currently trading below both its 20-day moving average of $2,435 and its 50-day average of $2,540, suggesting recent buyers are holding losses. However, it remains above its 200-day average of $2,158, indicating that the longer-term trend is still positive.

Key price levels show support at $2,290 and then $2,276. Resistance is observed at $2,361. Trading volume has dropped significantly compared with early October, with ETH's trading volume at only 70,589 ETH on October 27, sharply down from 187,738 ETH on October 7.

Underperformance Against Bitcoin

In October, ETH has performed poorly, down 13%, while Bitcoin has dropped just 3.5%. Bitcoin is trading at $80,614, significantly outpacing ETH and other altcoins like Solana, which is at $101. Part of this divergence can be attributed to targeted ETH selling, particularly amid ETF redemptions and trader exits from altcoin positions.

For now, the $2,290 floor depends on BitMine continuing to buy and spot Ether ETFs flipping back to net inflows, which hasn't happened yet. If ETH closes a day below $2,276 while ETF outflows continue, the October slip likely has further to run.