Vitalik-Linked Wallet Moves 7,000 ETH After a Year of Dormancy

Ethereum News

A wallet long associated with Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin stirred after a year of silence, moving 7,000 ETH worth roughly $11.06 million to a fresh address. On-chain data shows the address, labeled 0xD04, had sat untouched since 2024 before the transfer landed during a stretch of heavy selling pressure. The pattern echoes prior activity: the same AI Crypto Wallet tracking flagged an earlier shift of 1,300 ETH later routed to custody and exchange platforms, fueling speculation this batch is bound for a centralized venue. After the move, the address still holds 20,001 ETH, valued near $31.6 million. The timing rattled an already fragile market.

Ether slid 8.4% over the past seven days to about $1,581, part of a broad retreat across major tokens as capital rotated toward equities tied to the artificial-intelligence boom. Market data show dogecoin fell 9.6% to roughly $0.076 and Hyperliquid’s HYPE dropped 9.9%, the steepest declines among large caps, while XRP lost 7.8% to $1.06. Bitcoin proved sturdier, down 5.3% to around $60,345 after twice rebounding from dips near $58,800. The equal-weight S&P 500 hit a record as money left semiconductors, underscoring how this corner of risk markets was excluded from the latest rally. The divergence pressured altcoin sentiment.

Separately, four wallets dormant for roughly eight years sprang back to life, according to on-chain tracking. The addresses originally received 37,602 ETH at an average price near $830 back in 2017, and have now sold 33,623 ETH at about $1,560 each. That realized roughly $27.4 million in profit despite the token trading far below its all-time high. The reactivation of such aged holdings often signals long-term conviction wavering, and the sales added fresh supply to an order book already strained by weak demand. The episode highlights how even early adopters sitting on multi-year gains are choosing to lock in value during the downturn.

Not every large holder is selling. On-chain data shows one whale swapped 464 Bitcoin for 17,750 ETH worth about $27.6 million, betting on a relative-value rotation into Ethereum. Investor Chun Wang added 9,937 ETH alongside 147 wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), extending an accumulation streak that saw him withdraw roughly 87,000 ETH from a major exchange over the past month at an average cost near $1,749. The swap mechanics, executed through an automated market maker, point to deliberate positioning. The contrast — aged wallets distributing while fresh capital accumulates — leaves the market split on direction and primed for volatility.

Underlying that caution is a deteriorating profitability picture for Ethereum’s biggest holders. On-chain analysis indicates that whale cohorts holding more than 1,000 ETH have seen their aggregate unrealized returns turn negative for the first time since 2019. When large holders slip underwater, the risk of capitulation rises, since previously profitable positions become candidates for loss-cutting and could deepen any bear market leg. The shift marks a notable change from the multi-year structure that kept most sizable wallets comfortably in profit. It also helps explain the uneasy tone among traders watching for signs that distressed selling could accelerate if prices fail to stabilize soon.

Traders are fixated on the $1,500 mark as Ethereum’s pivotal support. Several analysts warn that consecutive daily closes beneath that threshold would undermine the bullish framework intact since 2022, potentially opening a path back toward early-2023 trading ranges. Others flag the $1,070 to $1,370 band as a prospective accumulation zone, cautioning that a slide into it could break the long-term ascending trendline. The clustering of opinion around these levels underscores how technically driven the current tape has become. With momentum weak and demand thin, the defense of $1,500 has emerged as the line separating orderly consolidation from a deeper retracement.

COINOTAG’s proprietary 42-indicator composite scoring engine rates the $1,595 resistance at 75/100 — the strongest overhead barrier — driven by the confluence of the previous day high, the R2 pivot and a Fibonacci 0.114 retracement. Immediate support at $1,579 scores 65/100, anchored by the pivot point, prior close and the lower Bollinger Band. Our reading of the derivatives is cautious: a slightly negative funding rate of -0.0032% and $5.95 billion in open interest pair with a long/short account ratio of 2.81, meaning 73.8% of accounts sit long despite an RSI of 32.4 and a Fear & Greed reading of 15 (Extreme Fear). A daily close above $1,595 would flip the bias bullish; losing the $1,512 floor invalidates the thesis.