Ethereum Whales Dump Holdings as SEC Delays Spot ETF Rulings

• Whales are dumping large ETH holdings.
• The wave of mass selling follows the SEC’s recent decision to delay ETF applications.
• Amid the selling, Ethereum faces significant selling pressure.

Last week, a wave of excitement swept through the Ethereum community as BlackRock threw its hat in the ring to launch a spot Ethereum ETF product. But this excitement appears to be waning as the U.S. SEC has recently delayed its decision on earlier applications. 

On-chain data suggests whales are dumping their holdings in response to the blow from the SEC.

Ethereum Whales Throw in the Towel

On November 15, the SEC announced it would defer its decision on Ethereum ETF applications from Grayscale and Hashdex until January 1, 2024. The agency asserted it needed more time to arrive at its decision.

The SEC’s history of delaying spot ETF products has led to little surprise, but some whales are getting fed up with the wait.

Lookonchain, a crypto smart money tracker, has reported whale selling and exchange deposits of 42.9k ETH ($82.9 million) in the past two days. The most recent instance on Friday, November 17, saw a whale send 19.3k ETH (worth approximately $37.16 million) to Binance , contributing to the mounting selling pressure.

Amid the whale selling, ETH is trading at $1,942 per CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing, representing a 1.19% decline over the past 24 hours.

What a Spot ETF Approval Means for Crypto Users

Spot ETFs are considered bullish for the nascent crypto market by many in the industry. The reason for this conviction is the potential for trillions of dollars from institutional and traditional investors to flow into the crypto market.

BlackRock’s involvement in June 2023 and Grayscale’s legal victory in August 2023 raised hopes for the near approval of a U.S. spot crypto ETF.

On the Flipside 

• Aside from whale selling, Ethereum has recently come under fire from a former advisor.
• ETH is still up 23.8% in the past 30 days.

Why This Matters

Recent whale selling suggests a shift in market sentiment and puts significant selling pressure on Ethereum.

Read this to learn more about the BlackRock ETF excitement:

BlackRock Eyes Spot Ethereum ETF – ETH Price Soars Past $2K

Learn about POLS, a token that has taken the Polygon network by storm:

What Is POLS and Why Is It Sending Polygon Fees to the Moon?