Bitcoin News Today: Whales Shift $4B Into Ether as Bitcoin Faces Strategic Sell-Off

A recent wave of whale activity in the cryptocurrency market has highlighted growing rotation from Bitcoin to Ether, with major investors liquidating BTC holdings to purchase ETH and other altcoins. This trend is intensifying speculation that the market is entering a period of altcoin dominance, or “altseason,” driven by shifting capital flows and strategic profit-taking. Data from blockchain analytics platforms indicates that the largest holders are adjusting their portfolios, with Ether becoming a preferred destination for capital reallocation.

One of the most notable movements was led by an $11 billion Bitcoin whale who has been offloading BTC to acquire Ether. The whale recently sold $215 million worth of Bitcoin to purchase $216 million in Ether via Hyperliquid, bringing its total ETH holdings to 886,371 tokens, valued at over $4 billion [1]. This accumulation surpasses the second-largest corporate Ether holder, SharpLink Gaming, whose 797,000 ETH is valued at $3.5 billion. While the whale's holdings are still less than half of the largest corporate holder—Bitmine Immersion’s 1.8 million ETH—its actions reflect broader institutional interest in Ether [1].

The shift to Ether is being echoed across the whale community. Over the past week, nine “massive” whale addresses acquired $456 million in Ethereum, with five of those transfers originating from custodian BitGo and the remaining from Galaxy Digital’s over-the-counter desk [3]. Simultaneously, a second wave of activity saw eight newly created wallets snap up an additional 35,948 ETH, worth $164 million, from FalconX and Galaxy Digital within eight hours. These moves are being interpreted as a sign of deepening institutional involvement and growing confidence in Ethereum’s fundamentals [3].

The timing of these moves coincides with diverging price performances between Bitcoin and Ether. Over the past month, Ether has gained nearly 18.5% while Bitcoin has fallen 6.4%. Bitcoin has pulled back from its all-time high of $124,128 to trade around $107,000, whereas Ether remains within 6.7% of its record high of $4,946. Analysts suggest that Ethereum’s relative strength is partly due to growing corporate accumulation and improved on-chain activity, while Bitcoin faces pressure from profit-taking by older whale addresses [1][3].

Whale activity has also intensified short-term volatility. Over the weekend, Bitcoin fell to $107,000 after a high-profile whale dumped 34,000 BTC in two separate sales, leveraging low liquidity periods to execute the trades. These moves, described as “weekend selling,” reflect a strategic shift in how whales are managing market impact. Unlike earlier periods in the year when weekend trading often saw price pumps, whales are now using off-hours to offload large volumes without triggering sharp corrections [2].

Despite the selling pressure, on-chain data suggests that most of the BTC movement represents a turnover between whale wallets rather than outright dumping. Accumulation continues among large addresses, with a 45% rise in whale reserves observed over the past month [2]. Meanwhile, Ethereum spot ETFs have absorbed $1.8 billion in ETH inflows over the last five trading days, adding to the growing institutional demand for the token [1]. This trend reinforces the view that capital is increasingly shifting away from Bitcoin’s dominant position and into altcoins with more growth potential.

Source:

[1] $11B Bitcoin whale surpasses SharpLink with $4B ... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whale-rotates-into-ether-surpasses-sharplink-corporate-holdings)

[2] Bitcoin slides to $107K as whales offload $4B over weekend (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1084938-20250901)

[3] Whales Dump Bitcoin, Snatch Up $456M in Ethereum (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whales-dump-bitcoin-snatch-456m-151949160.html)