A veteran market participant has just closed a long-term position, with an Ethereum whale transferring its remaining coins to a major centralized exchange.
OG ETH whale sends final 26,000 tokens to Bitstamp
An OG whale that accumulated Ethereum at a much lower price range has moved all remaining funds to Bitstamp. The latest transfer arrived as ETH held above the $3,100 range, hinting at a short-term recovery despite increased selling.
The same ETH OG whale sent the remainder of their balance to the exchange after accumulating coins at an average price of $517. However, the wallet had been dormant for years, with first activity recorded as early as 2017 and the most active accumulation in 2020 and 2021, when ETH traded near local lows.
The whale has been moving funds to exchanges over the past few days, potentially selling the entire stash to lock in around $274M in net profits. Moreover, the wallet started sending ETH to Bitstamp over the weekend, concentrating its exits on a single exchange.
Lookonchain highlighted the move, noting that this EthereumOG, who bought 154,076 ETH at a $517 average, deposited the remaining 26,000 ETH, worth about $80.88M, to Bitstamp 5 hours before the report, for a total profit of roughly $274M, a gain of +344%.
That said, the OG whale’s position so far has had only a limited effect on the spot market price of ETH. The market has stabilized above $3,100, while trading in a largely neutral sentiment band according to recent order book behavior.
Ethereum whale activity absorbed by market liquidity
In total, the Ethereum OG whale acquired 154,046 ETH over several years. The address held continuously since November 2021, sitting through the early 2022 crash and the fallout from the FTX collapse without panic selling.
Moreover, the whale appears to have remained largely focused on the spot market, with no visible positions on derivatives venues or Hyperliquid from the original accumulation address. This suggests a simple buy-and-hold strategy rather than leveraged speculation.
The ETH OG whale started distributing tokens on October 2, 2025, just before the wider market plunged into a sharp correction. In the past day alone, the wallet sent the last 26,000 ETH to Bitstamp through a series of deposits, according to Arkham Intelligence.
The wallet had held for years with no new accumulation, waiting through multiple market cycles. However, after that long period, the first sale came on October 2, 2025, right before one of the market’s largest liquidation events in recent history.
The whale subsequently offloaded additional ETH at the end of November. Later, all remaining tokens were sold, with a final 26,000 ETH transfer to Bitstamp leaving the address with a residual balance of just $23.
Even at that scale of deposits, ETH balances on trading platforms barely moved. That said, even with sizeable whale selling, the broader market has so far absorbed the extra supply without a visible spike in volatility.
Reserves on Bitstamp remained close to an all-time low, hinting that some of the flow may have been handled via an OTC arrangement. Bitstamp still holds around 8.57M ETH in reserves, a level down by more than 50% since August 2025, reinforcing the broader ETH exchange reserves drop narrative.
Whales dominate ETH flows as crowd stays cautious
ETH trading remains heavily influenced by large holders, with an ongoing mix of profit-taking and fresh accumulation. Moreover, recent sentiment metrics show a sharp contrast between whales and the broader crowd.
Market Prophit recently summarized this divergence, stating that for $ETH, the crowd is Bearish and MP is also Bearish. However, smart money and large players continue to deploy capital selectively.
ETH continues to flow into key eth accumulation addresses, as large-scale buyers soak up short-term selling pressure. In fact, the OG seller’s activity was almost fully offset by fresh buying from Bitmine, which recently added 109,504 ETH to its holdings in what some analysts describe as a strategic bitmine eth purchase.
The latest whale actions may simply reflect an attempt to realize multi-year gains during a relatively liquid period. ETH daily trading volumes have recovered to the higher end of their recent range, near $20B, which allows substantial exits without severely disrupting price.
Bitstamp does not offer a specific ETH premium or staking yields, and is therefore likely being used purely for spot sales. However, other venues and OTC desks may be involved in quietly matching bids, limiting the visible ETH whale selling pressure on open order books.
Market outlook after major whale exit
The full exit of this long-standing OG address underscores how large, early holders can gradually unwind positions without triggering a severe price breakdown. Moreover, the episode highlights that liquidity on major exchanges and OTC desks remains sufficient to absorb sizeable sales.
For now, ETH trades above $3,100 with neutral to slightly cautious sentiment, while whales continue to shape flows behind the scenes. The market’s ability to absorb this OG sale suggests that demand from other large buyers remains robust, even as some early entrants finally cash out.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/01/12/ethereum-whale-bitstamp-exit/
