An unknown ethereum whale has been accumulating eth at a rapid rate since early February. In the last 23 days, wallet 0x7a95c has acquired $411 million worth of eth and stETH, primarily from Binance.
Data shared with cryptoslate of ai/en/profile?address=0x7a95f1554ea2e36ed297b70e70c8b45a33b53095″>Spotonchain tracks eth inflows in the wallet throughout the month, showing persistent purchases of between 3,000 and 34,000 eth.
cryptoslate Analysis tracking wallet inputs and outputs shows connections to multiple different exchanges and DEXs. Almost all the funds in the wallet came from Binance with $21 million of HTX and 1inch. However, in terms of exits, a wide range of addresses are connected, including Wintermute, Uniswap, 1inch, AlphaLab Capital, Native Pool, and Paraswap, among others.
Digging into the details of the transaction on Spotonchain, the whale transferred a substantial amount of 7,915 eth, valued at approximately $23.52 million, from Binance to its wallet. This transaction, recorded on February 22 at 16:38, signifies the continuation of a notable accumulation pattern by this entity. The transaction details indicate a deliberate strategy by the whale to increase its ethereum holdings.
In the last four days, the whale reportedly purchased a total of 112,923 eth through Binance and 1inch, with an average acquisition cost of $2,892 per eth, equivalent to an investment of $326.5 million. Following these transactions, the whale's ethereum holdings now stand at 132,585 eth, along with 5,485 STETH, cumulatively valued at $411 million. This portfolio currently has an unrealized profit of $21.13 million, highlighting the financial gains resulting from these strategic moves.
The accumulation pattern includes several other important transactions. Notably, 17,198 eth was withdrawn from Binance in a previous transaction, contributing to the whale's growing ethereum reserves.
Furthermore, the whale's activities extend beyond ethereum purchases, as evidenced by the withdrawal of 40 million USDT from Binance. This suggests a broader strategy that potentially includes tapping stablecoin reserves to further increase ethereum holdings. The whale's transactions and holdings, particularly the strategic use of both eth and STETH, reflect a sophisticated approach to investing in digital assets, emphasizing diversification and timing to capitalize on market movements.
Rumors that the SEC will approve a possible ethereum spot ETF have helped ethereum break back above the $3,000 mark on two occasions this month. Concerns have been raised about theoretical issues with centralizing ethereum staked amid a spot ETF, although any potential approval is currently unclear.
Unconfirmed Rumors About Justin Sun's Relationship
Earlier this month, Lookonchain suggested that the whale could be Justin Sun. based on an analysis of similar transactions with a suspicious wallet belonging to the investor. However, all information appears to be circumstantial and the wallet does not have an equivalent active address on the Tron blockchain. Still, interestingly, wallet 0x7a95 has never interacted with USDC and only appears to use USDT for stablecoin transactions. Circle stated that Justin Sun does not have accounts with them in a 2023 Letter to Senator Elizabeth Warrenbut wallets identified by Arkham Intelligence to belong to Sun made a transaction with USDC on February 22.
The only connection to Justin Sun that could be identified by cryptoslate was a 1 inch settlement contract with two tangentially related portfolios. Addresses 0x874d and 0x158B received $21 million from 0x7a95, and both transferred funds to the 1-inch settlement contract 0xA888. A wallet labeled Justin Sun, 0x1387, received $58 million from the same 1-inch contract a year ago. However, all transactions since 0x7a95 occurred much more recently.
cryptoslate is monitoring the wallet and related addresses in case more information emerges.
