Cryptocurrency

A Wallet Tied to the Ethereum Foundation Sold $17.8 Million in ETH After a Year Without Moving. Should Holders Worry?

A dormant Ethereum Foundation wallet just offloaded a massive ETH position after a full year of silence, and it is not the only major player quietly heading for the exit. Here is what the timing reveals about where ETH could…

By Sam Daodu
Published October 28, 2026, 2:49pm ET · 4 min read

The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.

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Three gold-colored cryptocurrency coins are displayed on a dark surface, two standing upright and one lying flat in the foreground. The upright coins feature the Ethereum symbol and text 'ethereum classic'. A set of gold justice scales is blurred in the dark background, with the coins illuminated by a soft golden light.
Gold-colored Ethereum coins stand before a set of justice scales, symbolizing the careful weighing of value and fees in cryptocurrency investments like ETHE and ETHA. © J-Alone / Shutterstock.com

Lookonchain, an on-chain tracker that monitors significant wallets known as whales, identified a wallet linked to the Ethereum Foundation that sold 7,594 ETH (CRYPTO: ETH) (worth $17.8 million) after being inactive for a full year. ETH trades at $2,336, up 0.3% in the past 24 hours. However, this modest increase belies a difficult month for the cryptocurrency overall.

In October, ETH fell 13.0% and hit its lowest 30-day close at $2,321 on October 26. It is currently trading 52.8% below its all-time high of $4,946 from August 24, 2025. So, should Ethereum holders interpret this sudden sale from a previously dormant wallet as a warning sign?

The Wallet’s Early Entry Price Makes the Sale Look Like Profit-Taking

A silver Ethereum coin, featuring its green logo and the word 'ethereum' embossed, is prominent in the foreground. Behind it, a blurred digital display shows a financial chart with vivid green lines and an arrow pointing upwards, alongside abstract red and blue market data points, all set against a dark background.

Sergei Elagin / Shutterstock.com

According to Lookonchain, the early Ethereum investor behind this wallet sold 7,594 ETH after holding it for a full year without moving. This seller initially bought 200,000 ETH for just $61,000 during Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO)—the public sale that funded the network’s development.

Lookonchain also noted that this wallet received 42,654 ETH, valued at around $590,000 at the time, from the Ethereum Foundation when ETH traded at only $13.82. The Foundation has not confirmed any connection to this wallet, so the link is speculative and based solely on these on-chain transfers. Given the low initial investment cost, the sale seems more like routine profit-taking than a sign of distress.

Public records do not clarify where the sold coins ended up. If transferred to an exchange, they could influence market prices. However, if they went to a private over-the-counter (OTC) desk, there would be minimal impact on public trading.

ETF Investors and Arthur Hayes Sold More, While BitMine Kept Buying

A silver Ethereum coin with a gold-colored diamond logo and 'ethereum' text is in the foreground, surrounded by several other gold and silver cryptocurrency tokens scattered on a dark, reflective surface. In the blurred background, a digital screen displays an upward-trending chart with glowing red and blue lines, indicating market fluctuations.

Zephyr_p / Shutterstock.com

In comparison, larger players are also making moves in the market. Recent figures show that spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced net outflows of $60.2 million on October 27, following $88.6 million in outflows on October 26. This means more investors cashed out shares than they bought, reducing the amount of ETH held.

On October 27, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (NASDAQ: ETHA) reported $93.3 million in outflows, being the only fund with outflows that day. All spot Ether ETFs hold about $14.2 billion in ETH.

Additionally, notable traders are reducing their positions. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, announced he closed his directional trades on October 24, taking profits from ETH and other altcoins. Lookonchain estimated Hayes’s altcoin sales amount to around $22 million.

On a more positive note, BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR | BMNR Price Prediction) has been acquiring ETH, purchasing 10,452 ETH (approximately $24 million) in its latest update. It now holds 6.05 million ETH, valued at about $14.1 billion.

ETH Trails Bitcoin as Key Averages Turn Against It

Close-up shot of several golden Bitcoin and Ethereum coins, with a prominent black and gold Ripple coin (featuring a world map and 'ripple' logo) centered on a dark surface. The surface also displays a green and red candlestick financial chart in the background.

Kjetil Kolbjornsrud / Shutterstock.com

ETH is currently trading below both its 20-day moving average of $2,435 and its 50-day average of $2,540, suggesting recent buyers are holding losses. However, it remains above its 200-day average of $2,158, suggesting that the longer-term trend is still positive.

Key price levels show support at $2,290 and then $2,276. Resistance is observed at $2,361. On October 27, ETH traded between $2,294 and $2,361, with buyers supporting the lower end of the range while sellers capped upward moves just below the resistance level.

Trading volume has dropped significantly compared with early October. On October 27, ETH’s trading volume was only 70,589 ETH, sharply down from 187,738 ETH on October 7, amid a steep decline earlier in the month. The sale of 7,594 ETH represents only a fraction of that day’s trading, assuming it even reached an exchange.

ETH Is Down 13% in October While Bitcoin Is Down 3.5%

A silver-colored Ethereum coin with a gold logo and 'ethereum' text rests on a black keyboard. Adjacent to it, a smartphone screen displays a financial candlestick chart with red and green bars, alongside visible numbers from a calculator interface.

Alexandru Nika / Shutterstock.com

In October, ETH has performed poorly, down 13%, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has dropped just 3.5%. Bitcoin is trading at $80,614, significantly outpacing ETH and other altcoins like Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), which is at $101. All three cryptocurrencies have rebounded slightly over the past 24 hours, but ETH’s recovery has been the weakest.

Part of this divergence can be attributed to targeted ETH selling, particularly amid ETF redemptions and Hayes’s exit from altcoin positions. Altcoins, including ETH and Solana, tend to be more volatile and often drop more sharply when overall market sentiment shifts.

Can ETH Hold Above $2,290 Without ETF Buyers?

As for the Ethereum Foundation wallet sale, it seems like a minor detail for most ETH holders. The bigger concern is broader ETF outflows and overall market trends.

For now, the $2,290 floor depends on BitMine continuing to buy and spot Ether ETFs flipping back to net inflows, which hasn’t happened yet. If ETH closes a day below $2,276 while ETF outflows continue, the October slip likely has further to run. If ETH recovers $2,3

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Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.

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