Institutions Grab $4.17B in Ethereum as Price Breaks $4,000
More than 1.035 million Ethereum, worth approximately $4.167 billion, have been acquired by unknown whales and institutions over the past month, according to analyst Ember CN. The buying spree coincided with ETH’s surge from $2,600 to over $4,000 — a 45% rise since July 10 and a 19.6% gain in the past week.
Institutional Accumulation and Average Purchase Price
The acquisitions took place through exchanges and institutional platforms, with an average purchase price of about $3,546 per ETH. Ember CN indicated that most addresses belong to institutions or U.S. public companies building Ethereum reserves, excluding known exchange wallets.
Binance Transfers to Wintermute
Arkham Intelligence data shows that Binance hot wallets moved thousands of ETH to market maker Wintermute within hours of the price surge. Initial transfers ranged from 250 to 500 ETH, later escalating to single transactions exceeding 1,800 ETH. These movements suggest market makers were managing execution to limit price impact during volatile trading.
Technical Analysts Warn of Overextension
Analyst Michaël van de Poppe cautioned that buying ETH at these highs could be risky, calling the rally “wild” and noting prices have “swept the high.” He suggested the market could break toward all-time highs but recommended allocating to Ethereum ecosystem tokens for potentially higher returns.
Growing Institutional Adoption
The $4.17 billion buying period aligns with rising institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. U.S. public companies are increasingly adding Ethereum to their treasuries, making it the second most popular corporate crypto asset after Bitcoin.
