Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Whale’s High-Risk ETH Gamble Signals Institutional Shift

A major Bitcoin whale has significantly increased its holdings with a $13.87 million purchase of Ethereum (ETH), according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. This move marks the latest in a series of high-profile transactions involving large-scale crypto investors, who are increasingly diversifying their portfolios amid shifting market dynamics. The whale, previously known for holding Bitcoin for seven years without selling, has now opened a long position in ETH, reflecting a strategic pivot into Ethereum amid growing institutional interest and broader market trends.

The whale executed the purchase by selling 670 Bitcoin (BTC) for approximately $76 million before allocating the proceeds to acquire 68,130 ETH. The Ethereum positions were taken at around $4,300 per token, with the majority of the exposure leveraged at 10x. However, the subsequent price correction in ETH, which dropped to $4,080, pushed three of the whale’s positions into the red, with some only $300 away from liquidation levels. Despite the short-term volatility, ETH has since rebounded, trading at $4,287 per token as of the latest report, up 2.9% in the last 24 hours.

The whale’s actions align with broader trends in the crypto market, where institutional and high-net-worth investors are increasingly favoring Ethereum. For instance, BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly traded Bitcoin company, added 52,475 ETH to its treasury, bringing its total holdings to 1.52 million tokens valued at $6.6 billion. Similarly, two institution-linked wallets accumulated 9,044 ETH each, further reinforcing the growing demand for the second-largest cryptocurrency.

On the Bitcoin side, the whale previously held 14,837 BTC, valued at over $1.6 billion, acquired from Binance and HTX seven years ago. The decision to rotate a portion of these holdings into ETH suggests that even the most bullish Bitcoin investors are adopting a more diversified approach. Analysts have noted that such moves are not necessarily indicative of a broader rotation away from Bitcoin but rather reflect strategic hedging or capital reallocation strategies by large players.

The broader market context also supports this interpretation. Bitcoin recently reached a record high of $124,128 on August 14, but has since retreated, trading at around $113,600 as investors await the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium. Despite this pullback, FalconX’s head of research, David Lawant, has stated that the market structure still appears “extremely bullish,” citing strong buy-side demand and rapid flipping of order books after small dips. This resilience suggests that institutional buyers and well-capitalized funds are treating short-term corrections as buying opportunities, reinforcing a long-term bullish outlook.

The whale’s actions and the broader institutional interest in Ethereum highlight a maturing market where large players are increasingly adopting sophisticated strategies. These include leveraged long positions, hedging, and cross-asset diversification. While the exact motivations behind the whale’s ETH purchase remain unclear, the move underscores the ongoing shift in investor sentiment and the growing influence of institutional-grade strategies in the cryptocurrency space.

Source: [1] Bitcoin Whale Shifts to ETH With $295 Million Long Position (https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whale-dumps-btc-for-295m-eth-long-position) [2] Dormant Bitcoin Whale Awakens: BTC OG Rotates Into ... (https://bitcoinist.com/dormant-bitcoin-whale-awakens-og-rotates-577m-eth/) [3] Bitcoin Market Structure 'Still Looks Extremely Bullish ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/20/btc-market-structure-still-looks-extremely-bullish-says-falconx-head-of-research) [4] Bitcoin Market Structure 'Still Looks Extremely Bullish,' Says ... (https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-market-structure-still-looks-181610321.html) [5] Bitcoin Price to Hit $1.3M by 2035, Says Crypto Asset ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/22/bitcoin-price-to-hit-usd1-3m-by-2035-says-crypto-asset-manager-bitwise) [6] Bitcoin price rises ahead of Fed Jackson Hole speech (https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-price-crypto-federal-reserve-jackson-hole-085201361.html)