Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke has made news recently over a private investment that may have broader market implications. Wilcke sent 20.000 Ether to a centralized crypto exchange, Kraken. The transfer is worth about $75.2 million in fiat money.

Many analysts believe that this move is more than just an issue of personal finance for Wilckeand that it can be a sign of a market shift for Ether and possibly for other cryptocurrencies. Previous such moves have been indicators in that regard.

How is Ethereum Doing?

The move happens at a time when Ethereum is doing pretty well. There is growing interest in ETH and altcoins across the board. An average user can easily learn how to buy Ethereum, and altcoins have become a staple of middle-class portfolios for years now.

At the time of this writing, Ethereum’s price is US$3,607.28, with a 24-hour trading volume of $39.3 B. ETH is +0.00% in the last 24 hours. ETH has a circulating supply of 120.44 M ETH.

This is one of the reasons the transfer has caused interest, as there are no other indicators that ETH prices may drop.

What can it indicate?

Experts claim that this may be an indication that the price of Ethereum may drop in the coming weeks or days. When the founder and other officials of the company dropped their assets before, it was a sign of a drop, and it has proven to be a pretty accurate indicator.

However, it is too early to say how big the decline will be or even if there will be one. Some investors have already panicked based on the headlines and sold some of their Ethereum, but at this point, there is no mass reaction.

Past Examples

Wilcke deposited 15.000 Ether in January of 2021. He also moved 4,300 ETH and 10,000 ETH on Feb. 11 and Feb. 14, 2024, respectively. In all of these cases, the price of Ethereum dropped. It is not easy to say if it dropped because of the move or if the move was an indication
that it would drop.

It is also important to keep in mind that Wilcke still holds 106,006 ETH, valued at over $384 million. The deposit he is made is, therefore, pretty big, and that is  the reason it is being reported, but there is no reason to believe that the founder is dumping Ethereum.

Accusations of Profiting of Reserves

Earlier this year, Ethereum sold 4,266 ETH, worth over $12 million. The move caused the users and the general public to criticize the company for making profits from reserves. They play an important role in the financial and technical ecosystem of cryptocurrency, and the markets are affected if they are sold off.

However, the company has said, in return, that the sale is used to finance tech improvements and some day-to-day expenses. The annual report issued by the company confirms that this is how the funds made from the sale were used.

The Initial Effect On the Price

The sale did make headlines, and some smaller investors decided to sell a portion of their portfolio. However, other than that, there was no visible effect on the price.

In fact, Ethereum made a strong push towards $3,700 early Thursday, but the momentum stalled, leading to a slight pullback.

In the 24 hours after the sale, Ethereum rose by 3 percent. That is too small a time window to make a decision based on it, as the users will change their minds once they are informed further and once they take into account the analysis of the event.

What is Kraken?

Kraken is a popular cryptocurrency exchange platform that Wilcke used to make his sales. As of this year, it is the seventh crypto exchange by size, and it has been operational for over 10 years now. It has an average daily trading volume of roughly $283 million in the spot market and $217 million in the derivatives market.

Cryptocurrencies available on Kraken include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), EOS (EOS), and Solana (SOL). The exchange also allowed trading in NFTs, but it has just recently stopped this practice to focus on other ventures.

To Sum Up

Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke sold a portion of his personal stake in Ethereum. It is a significant amount, even though he still holds quite a lot of assets in Ethereum. In the past, such transfers have caused or announced that ETH will dip in value. Some analysts believe this will be the case once again.

It is not yet known if that will be the case since the price has not dropped yet, and there are no big moves on the part of large holders. The company has sold parts of its reserves before, and the profits were used to improve the business further and innovate. The move happens in the context of relative prosperity for Ethereum.