Ethereum News Today: Institutional Ethereum Selling Sparks $1.19B Liquidation Fears

A major institutional investor has sold 4,000 Ethereum (ETH) units at an average price of $4,164, according to on-chain data. This recent transaction adds to a cumulative total of over 12,500 ETH sold by the entity to date. The move is part of broader market activity involving significant Ethereum holders and treasury movements, which have been closely monitored by analysts and investors.

The ongoing Ethereum market dynamics have seen increased selling pressure from both individual and institutional players. On August 15, Ethereum spot ETFs recorded outflows totaling $59.3 million, signaling a potential shift in institutional positioning after a period of strong inflows. In parallel, a large whale moved 12,202 ETH—valued at approximately $54 million—to exchanges, indicating profit-taking following a nearly 19% rally in July 2025 [3].

The recent Ethereum price has faced downward pressure amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty, including shifting Federal Reserve expectations and global market trends. On August 17, a wallet previously linked to an early Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) participant transferred 4,460 ETH—worth around $19 million—to Kraken. Over the past week, the same wallet deposited approximately 9,803 ETH to exchanges, bringing its total deposits to $43.9 million [4]. These movements highlight potential liquidity events that may influence Ethereum’s price action in the short term.

Analysts have pointed to the $4,000 level as a critical support zone for Ethereum. If the price were to fall below this threshold, it could trigger approximately $1.19 billion in liquidations, according to data from liquidation tracking platforms. Mechanism Capital founder Andrew Kang has warned that continued liquidations could push the price toward the $3,200–$3,600 range, leading to an estimated $5 billion in total liquidations [3]. The potential for cascading liquidations has raised concerns among market participants about broader sell-off risks, particularly as Ethereum often sets the tone for the wider crypto market.

Institutional and large-cap Ethereum holders have also been active in managing their positions. For example, a notable Ethereum whale has moved over $54 million in ETH to exchanges within a short timeframe, while another ICO-era wallet has offloaded a total of $19 million in ETH. These large-scale movements suggest that some long-term holders may be reassessing their exposure amid volatile price swings and uncertainty about Ethereum’s near-term trajectory.

The Ethereum validator exit queue has also reached record levels, currently standing at 855,158 ETH—worth approximately $3.7 billion—as of late August [6]. This increase reflects growing interest in unstaking tokens, which could add additional downward pressure on the price if the rate of unstaking accelerates. Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon noted that while unstaking activity does not typically cause sudden price crashes, it can create persistent sell pressure if it outpaces new demand for Ethereum. This dynamic could become more significant in a stressed market environment, particularly if token discounts for staked ETH trigger further risk reductions or liquidations [6].

Source:

[1] 「The Big Bro」 placed a sell limit order for 1800 ETH in ... (https://www.theblockbeats.info/en/flash/307782)

[2] Ethereum's Big Backers Unleash Billions to Push Into Wall Street (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ethereum-big-backers-unleash-billions-130704758.html)

[3] Drop Below $4000 Could Trigger $1 Billion in Liquidations (https://coinpedia.org/news/eth-price-crash-drop-below-4000-could-trigger-1-billion-in-liquidations/)

[4] The Daily: SEC delays XRP, Dogecoin and other ETFs ... (https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/367301/sec-delays-xrp-dogecoin-and-other-etfs-strategy-buys-more-bitcoin-ethereum-ico-wallets-move-funds)

[5] Ethereum 4-Week Trend Shows When It Is Time To Sell ... (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1048709-20250819)

[6] Billions in Ethereum Waiting to Be Unstaked Could Add Sell ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billions-ethereum-waiting-unstaked-could-130003322.html)