Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Whales Swap BTC for ETH, Fueling a Shift in Crypto Power

A Bitcoin whale with a long history of holding large BTC positions has recently become active, significantly shifting its asset allocation by selling a substantial portion of its Bitcoin holdings and increasing its Ethereum exposure. Over the past two weeks, the whale sold 22,769 BTC, equivalent to approximately $2.7 billion at recent price levels, and converted these proceeds into Ethereum. According to on-chain analytics, the whale’s transactions have included the purchase of 472,900 ETH in spot markets and the opening of a long derivatives position for 135,200 ETH, totaling over $2.6 billion in exposure. This move reflects a broader trend of large Bitcoin holders rotating into Ethereum, a shift that has been observed across multiple whale addresses and exchanges [1].

Blockchain intelligence platforms such as Lookonchain and Arkham Intelligence have tracked the whale’s movements, identifying a pattern of selling Bitcoin and accumulating Ethereum over the last two weeks. The whale’s Bitcoin holdings were originally received from the HTX exchange nearly six years ago and had been largely dormant until August 16. The address has since moved significant quantities of Bitcoin into the decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid, where the majority of the BTC has been converted into ETH. Additionally, 275,500 ETH from these transactions has been staked, suggesting the whale may be pursuing a long-term strategy to benefit from Ethereum’s staking rewards and potential price appreciation [2].

The whale’s actions have coincided with a sharp decline in Bitcoin’s price, which fell nearly 2.2% in a short span of nine minutes amid heavy sell pressure. Ethereum also experienced a drop of approximately 4% during the same period. Analysts have attributed this market movement to the whale’s large-scale trades, which triggered a cascade of follow-on selling from other traders. The whale’s ETH long positions also rose in value as other traders anticipated the whale’s purchasing strategy, further amplifying the price impact. However, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have since recovered a portion of their losses, stabilizing around key levels [3].

According to crypto analyst MLM, the whale’s long ETH position has already generated a profit of $185 million, leveraging the price rise of Ethereum as traders reacted to the whale’s initial accumulation phase. The whale’s strategy appears to involve front-running market participants by strategically opening and closing long positions, which in turn led to a reversal of market sentiment once the whale began liquidating part of its exposure. This behavior triggered a wave of sell orders, reinforcing the downward movement in both BTC and ETH prices [1].

The whale is not the only large Bitcoin holder to shift assets into Ethereum in recent weeks. Another major wallet has been identified by on-chain analysts as having sold 670 BTC, or $76 million, to establish a long position in ETH. This trend reflects a broader rotation from Bitcoin to Ethereum among institutional and high-net-worth investors, which has also been mirrored in the growing inflows into Ethereum-based spot ETFs compared to Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum’s price has risen by approximately 220% since its April low of $1,471, positioning it as a potential outperformer in the current market cycle [4].

Bitcoin’s dominance in the cryptocurrency market has also dipped to 57.94%, from a peak of around 61% in early August, indicating a continued shift in investor sentiment toward altcoins. With Ethereum approaching its all-time high of $4,878 and upcoming developments such as ETF staking approval, some analysts believe that Ethereum could continue to attract capital at the expense of Bitcoin. The market’s response to macroeconomic events, such as Federal Reserve policy decisions, will also remain a key factor in determining whether this trend persists or reverses in the near term [5].

Source:

[1] Bitcoin flash crash blamed-crypto whales big-eth trades (https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-flash-crash-blamed-crypto-whales-big-eth-trades)

[2] Bitcoin whale abruptly wakes up after lying low for seven years gobbles up ethereum after dumping 337000000 in btc on-chain data (https://dailyhodl.com/2025/08/23/bitcoin-whale-abruptly-wakes-up-after-lying-low-for-seven-years-gobbles-up-ethereum-after-dumping-337000000-in-btc-on-chain-data/)

[3] Bitcoin under 112700 whale migration (https://www.theblock.co/post/368060/bitcoin-under-112700-whale-migration)

[4] Bitcoin OG sell bitcoin buy ether (https://www.theblock.co/post/367914/bitcoin-og-sell-bitcoin-buy-ether)

[5] Ethereum price gains edge on bitcoin as whale rotation hints at 10 upside 2 (https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2025/08/24/ethereum-price-gains-edge-on-bitcoin-as-whale-rotation-hints-at-10-upside-2/)