Vitalik Buterin Moves $3.6 Million of ETH To OKX, Ethereum Price Dump Incoming?
An address associated with the Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has moved 2,013 ETH to OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, Lookonchain, citing Etherscan data, on July 11 shows. According to on-chain data, the stash is currently valued at over $3.76 million and has not transferred any funds to a cryptocurrency exchange for the first time.
Vitalik Buterin Transfers
The address has previously moved funds to Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange. However, what’s evident is that the address, only identified as “0x9e92”, has been actively moving funds.
Over the years, the address has received 22,300 ETH, approximately $41.6 million, from December 30, 2022, to May 18, 2023. Apart from today, the wallet only moved funds once 70 days ago when the whale transferred funds to Gemini.
Whale and miner transfers to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges may be considered bearish. This is because users can readily convert crypto assets to fiat currencies like USD or stablecoins in these exchanges.
As such, the more whales and miners transfer to centralized exchanges; the more retailers may choose to sell their coins, heaping more pressure on asset prices. Still, it has yet to be determined whether the address associated with Vitalik Buterin will sell.
However, considering his past transfers, his deposit to OKX may not affect sentiment or adversely impact ETH prices.
Ethereum Prices Choppy
The recent deposit to OKX coincides with choppy price action across the cryptocurrency markets. Notably, major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, have been under pressure, with bears forcing prices lower over the past few months.
In recent months, the overall value of the cryptocurrency market has decreased since the previous period of growth. During that time, the price of Ethereum surged to over $4,800 before plummeting to current levels.
When writing on July 11, Ethereum prices were choppy and moving horizontally below the $1,900 and $2,000 resistance levels. Although traders are bullish, their confidence has not translated to strength since ETH prices are moving inside a bull flag with support at around $1,800, evident in the daily chart.
Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) activities remain suppressed, impacting ETH demand. In Ethereum, ETH, the native currency, is used to pay for gas fees and others. Gas fees rise during heightened activity, which may lift ETH prices.
In early May 2023, the Ethereum Foundation sold 15,000 ETH on Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange. Their move coincided with a notable contraction of Ethereum prices in the first half of May. Therefore, whether the address associated with a potential Vitalik Buterin deposit to OKX might catalyze bears is yet to be seen.
