Ethereum News Today: A Bitcoin Behemoth Bets Big on Ethereum’s Future, Ignoring Short-Term Storms

A significant shift in crypto asset allocation has emerged as a long-dormant Bitcoin whale recently sold a substantial portion of its holdings to open leveraged long positions in Ethereum (ETH). According to monitoring data from Lookonchain and other sources, the whale—holding 14,837 BTC valued at over $1.6 billion—moved 670 BTC, worth approximately $76 million, to open four leveraged long positions in ETH across multiple wallets [1]. This activity, observed on August 20, marks one of the largest single-day Bitcoin movements in recent months and signals a strategic asset rotation into Ethereum.

The whale’s move was executed on the decentralized exchange HyperLiquid, with 660 BTC sold and the proceeds used to establish leveraged ETH positions. Three of the four positions were opened with 10x leverage, totaling a notional value of $209 million, while a smaller portion—2,449 ETH—was opened with 3x leverage [2]. The Ethereum positions were initiated around $4,300 per token, reflecting a bullish outlook on the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. However, the price of ETH dropped shortly afterward to $4,080, pushing three of the positions into unrealized loss territory and bringing them within $300 of liquidation levels [4].

The whale’s action is not an isolated event but rather part of a broader pattern seen in recent weeks, including the movement of 52,000 ETH to institutional treasuries and the buying of 9,000 ETH during market dips [3]. Such large-scale movements, particularly from long-dormant wallets, have historically caused price volatility. For instance, a July 2025 event involving the movement of 80,000 BTC led to a 5% drop in Bitcoin’s price. However, this recent activity suggests that the market may be maturing, as experts note the ecosystem is now more resilient to such large transactions without triggering a catastrophic price collapse [2].

Blockchain analyst Slava Demchuk of AMLBot observed that the whale’s decision reflects expectations of growth in Ethereum, driven by its expanding institutional infrastructure, including better access to DeFi protocols, staking yields, and corporate treasury management tools compared to Bitcoin [2]. Additionally, the timing of the trade coincided with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of $124,128 and Ethereum nearing its 2021 peak of $4,878. Analysts suggest that smart money often rotates between assets at such levels, and the move highlights an opportunity cost calculation—diversifying into assets with better risk-to-reward ratios [3].

Despite the immediate market turbulence, the whale appears willing to absorb short-term losses for potential long-term gains. The current average funding rate for ETH across the network stands at 0.005%, while that of BTC is slightly higher at 0.0075% [1]. These rates suggest that the leveraged ETH positions are marginally cheaper to maintain, adding a layer of cost efficiency to the whale’s strategy. While the Ethereum positions have seen some recovery, with the price rebounding to $4,287 over the past 24 hours, the whale’s long-term outlook appears intact [4].

Source: [1] Data: A certain ancient Bitcoin whale deposited ... (https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2199124) [2] Bitcoin Whale Dumps $75 Million to Go Long on Ethereum (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-whale-dumps-75-million-152425785.html) [3] BTC whale dumped their bitcoin bags for ethereum ... (https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoMarkets/comments/1mw7bwo/btc_whale_dumped_their_bitcoin_bags_for_ethereum/) [4] Whale sells IDR1.2 tn Bitcoin to open long position in ... (https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/56767/whale-sells-idr1-2-tn-bitcoin-to-open-long-position-in-ethereum)