The ether-to-bitcoin ratio dropped to a 14-month low as large token holders, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, moved coins to crypto exchanges, possibly as a prelude to selling.
ETH-BTC dipped to near 0.0602 on Tuesday, according to TradingView data, its lowest reading since July.
The recent price action extended a trend that began in September 2022, confirming some bearish forecasts from analysts for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Marcus Thielen, head of strategy and research at Matrixport, said Monday on CoinDeskTV that Ethereum’s protocol revenues have been decreasing for the last three months, and expected BTC to continue outperforming the broader crypto market, including ETH.
Popular crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, founder of IntoTheCryptoverse, noted in an X post that a potential breakdown in the ETH’s valuation versus BTC could be in the cards.
Large ETH investors on the move
The latest slide in price occurred as some prominent investors – also known as whales – have recently deposited a total of $60 million ETH to crypto exchanges, raising alarms about further declines in price.
Market participants closely follow the on-chain maneuvers of whales, as they are considered well-informed and have a sizable impact on the market. Depositing assets to an exchange usually signals intention to sell, while withdrawals suggest accumulation.
Most recently, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin transferred 300 ETH – worth roughly $493,000 – to Kraken on Tuesday, according to blockchain data noted by security firm PeckShield. While the deposit is rather small, it spurred speculation among crypto watchers given Buterin’s stature for Ethereum.
Another large holder deposited a total of 30,000 ETH – worth nearly $50 million – to crypto exchanges Binance, OKX and KuCoin over the past four days, blockchain sleuth Lookonchain noted.
Lookonchain also pointed out that a crypto wallet that acquired tokens from Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) nine years ago deposited Monday 6,000 ETH – worth just shy of $10 million – to Kraken.
This entity received roughly 255,000 ETH during the ICO, now worth $423 million Lookonchain noted. Given that the token’s initial price was around 31 cents, selling the coinw now at $1,650 would represent a 527,000% profit.