On-chain data from Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics platform, reveals that over the past few trading days, crypto whales have been hoarding ethereum (ETH), buying millions worth of coins.
Whales hoarding ethereum
Notably, some of the whale movements involved Hashkey.
On-chain data shows that Hashkey made several strategic moves to capitalize on market conditions. In one case, the whale bought 1,747 ETH for $2.5 million at $1,431 during the depegging of USD Coin (USDC).
The whale then sold 3,540 ETH for $7.4 million at the highest price of the year, which was around $2,090, making a profit.
Another whale also bought ethereum after depositing into Aave, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol. The whale deposited 6,000 STETH, borrowed 6 million USDT, and then deposited the funds on Binance.
Two hours later, they withdrew around 3,600 ETH from Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, buying around $1,650. The whale then deposited 8,000 STETH, borrowed 7 million USDT, and deposited the funds on Binance.
Notably, all these millions of money movements were reported only on June 16.
On this day, ethereum prices rallied, shaking off weakness before steadily rising to spot rates. This suggests that the upturned leg could have been supported by whales.
Did the whales unpeg USDT using ethereum and USDC?
Market watchers also noted that Haskey also took advantage of the USDT unpegging on June 15.
The whale spent $7.47 million USDT to purchase 4,578 ETH from Binance.
Although speculation abounds, the slight deviation of USDT, a stablecoin, from its peg to the US dollar was caused by the activities of the whales.
(embed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ-3zg7QxuM(/embed)
Specifically, there was an imbalance in Curve’s 3pool, attributed to a whale address called CZSamSun, which borrowed 31.5 million USDT and exchanged it for USDC. The whale address also used ethereum and stETH as collateral, converting the loaned sum into USDC via the 1inch Network.
These moves caused a slight deviation in the USDT parity, sending the stablecoin down 0.3% to around 0.997. The strong selling of USDT for DAI or USDC also increased the weight of USDT in the pool to over 70%.
