Ethereum OG Wallets Sell 33,623 ETH After 8 Years Dormant

Ethereum News

Four long-dormant Ethereum (ETH) wallets sold roughly 33,623 ETH worth about $52.5 million this week, ending an eight-year holding streak. On-chain data shows the four addresses received 37,602 ETH — around $58.66 million at the time — about eight years ago, when the coin traded near $830. The cluster sat untouched through both the 2021 and 2025 bull cycles, at one point holding more than $150 million in unrealized gains, well above any prior all-time high in their cost basis. The wallets finally moved at an average of roughly $1,560, far below earlier peaks. The exit underscores how even seasoned holders are capitulating, shifting focus from whale behavior toward whether spot demand can absorb the fresh supply.

In sharp contrast to the selling, corporate treasury firm SharpLink resumed aggressive Ethereum accumulation, buying 39,196 ETH worth about $62.4 million over three days. On-chain data shows the company purchased 5,000 ETH on Thursday, another 5,000 ETH on Friday, and 29,196 ETH — roughly $46.7 million — on Saturday through three separate over-the-counter trades. The over-the-counter route, which executes large orders off the public order book to limit price impact, marked SharpLink's first ETH buying in roughly eight months. The Nasdaq-listed firm had paused accumulation amid a deep bear market, with ETH down about 22.8% over the past month and nearly 50% year-to-date.

The buying spree followed a fresh capital raise. The company's investor-relations disclosure confirmed it signed a registered direct offering on the 22nd, issuing 10,013,351 common shares alongside warrants to institutional investors, with gross proceeds estimated near $75 million before fees. Management said the funds would support working capital and general corporate purposes, including further Ethereum purchases and potential share buybacks. CEO Joseph Chalom said the raise was priced at a premium to both the firm's market value and its underlying ETH holdings, arguing that sophisticated investors want active capital allocation rather than passive exposure. The firm reported a $506.7 million unrealized loss on its ETH position in the first quarter, yet pressed ahead with accumulation.

The accumulation coincided with a broader institutional push. SharpLink confirmed it joined Ethlabs, a new non-profit research-and-development initiative launched this week to prepare Ethereum for the next phase of enterprise adoption. The company said the effort brings together fellow treasury firm Bitmine, Ethereum co-founder and Consensys founder Joe Lubin, and other ecosystem contributors. SharpLink framed the network as the neutral, permissionless settlement layer where demand from stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, funds, and autonomous trading driven by an AI trading bot increasingly converges on-chain. Ethlabs, it said, was created to scale Ethereum to meet that demand, signaling treasury holders are positioning around long-term utility rather than price exposure alone.

Rival treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies remains the largest corporate Ethereum holder by a wide margin. On-chain data and company disclosures put its stash at 5,672,956 ETH as of the 21st — roughly 4.7% of the total circulating supply — and the firm has continued adding to the position. Bitmine also confirmed it was newly added to the Russell 1000, the index tracking the 1,000 largest US-listed companies by market capitalization, lending the ETH treasury model further mainstream visibility. SharpLink, meanwhile, held 876,285 ETH as of the 21st, with staking rewards reaching 22,102 ETH, ranking it second among corporate accumulators of the altcoin.

The price weakness has reshaped Ethereum's standing among global assets. Recent market data shows ETH has slipped out of the top 100 of the world's largest assets by market capitalization — a ranking that includes equities and precious metals — even as it holds the number-two spot within crypto. The slide is mirrored in prediction markets: traders on Polymarket price a 56% chance ETH touches $1,250 at some point in 2026, a 25% chance it falls to $1,000, and a 15% chance it reaches $800. Such odds reflect crowd sentiment rather than guaranteed outcomes, but they capture how fragile confidence has become heading into the second half of the year.

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite scoring engine rates the $1,614.67 resistance at 73/100 — our strongest overhead level — built on the confluence of the R2 pivot, the Fibonacci 0.114 retracement, and the prior-day high. On the downside, the engine scores $1,548.37 support at 65/100, anchored by the previous-day low and a bullish engulfing signal, marking the line bulls must defend. With ETH near $1,581 and RSI at 33.57, momentum sits close to oversold even as MACD turns bullish against a broader downtrend. Derivatives data shows a negative -0.0010% funding rate and a crowded 3.03 long/short ratio (75.2% long) against $5.97 billion in open interest, while the Fear & Greed Index reads 12 (Extreme Fear). A daily close below $1,548 would invalidate the recovery thesis and open the $1,244 zone.