Ether Hits 14-Month Low Against Bitcoin Amidst $60M ETH Movement by Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Whales

The recent dip in the ETH/BTC ratio is part of an ongoing trend that has been unfolding for over a year.

The ratio between ether and bitcoin has reached its lowest point in 14 months. This coincided with major holders of tokens, including Ethereum's co-founder Vitalik Buterin, initiating transfers of coins to various cryptocurrency exchanges, which could be seen as a sign of potential selling. On Tuesday, the ETH-BTC ratio fell to around 0.0602, as per data from TradingView, marking its lowest level since July.

This recent shift in prices is a continuation of a trend that began in September 2022, affirming some of the bearish forecasts made by analysts concerning the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Marcus Thielen, the Head of Strategy and Research at Matrixport, mentioned on Bitsday that Ethereum's protocol revenues have been on a decline for the past three months. He anticipated that BTC would maintain its lead over the broader cryptocurrency market, which encompasses ETH.

Renowned crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, the founder of IntoTheCryptoverse, observed in a recent post that there might potentially be a devaluation of ETH in comparison to BTC.

Large ETH investors on the move

The most recent price drop happened as significant investors, often referred to as whales, deposited a combined total of $60 million worth of ETH into various cryptocurrency exchanges. This development raised concerns about further price reductions. Market participants closely monitor the on-chain activities of whales, viewing them as well-informed individuals with significant influence over the market. Depositing assets onto an exchange typically signals an intention to sell, while withdrawals imply accumulation.

Notably, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a transfer of 300 ETH (approximately $493,000) to Kraken on Tuesday, according to blockchain data highlighted by security firm PeckShield. While the deposit may appear relatively small, it sparked speculation among crypto enthusiasts due to Buterin’s influential role in the Ethereum community.

Another significant holder moved a total of 30,000 ETH (nearly $50 million) to cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, OKX, and KuCoin over the past four days, as reported by blockchain analysts at Lookonchain.

Lookonchain also emphasized that a cryptocurrency wallet that acquired tokens during Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) nine years ago made a deposit of 6,000 ETH (valued at just under $10 million) to Kraken on Monday. This entity received approximately 255,000 ETH during the ICO, which is now valued at $423 million, as observed by Lookonchain. Considering the initial price of the token was around 31 cents, selling it now at $1,650 would represent a staggering 527,000% profit.

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