Vitalik Buterin Sends $1 Million in ETH to Coinbase, Sparks Speculation

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, recently transferred ETH valued at around $1 million to the Coinbase platform. The action has since been sparking speculation within the crypto community due to the state of ETH in the market, the digital asset that has been under duress since the flash crash that played out last week.

According to the data from Etherscan.io, a wallet connected to Buterin moved 600 Ether to Coinbase. Such actions suggest a potential move to dump a crypto holding. Given the already shaky position of Ethereum’s price, this transaction might further intensify the downward pressure on its value.

In related news, Lookonchain revealed that Vitalik.eth wallet squared away 251,000 RAI on the Maker decentralized finance (DeFi) platform and pulled out 1,000 ETH, equivalent to about $1.67 million, on August 20. This was followed by the questionable 600 ETH transfer to Coinbase.

The “vitalik.eth” wallet, created seven years, holds 3,993 ETH, priced at $6.5 million currently. As per data from the Arkham Intelligence tool, this wallet is owned by the Ethereum co-founder. The same wallet also contains other digital currencies like $84,000 in USD Coin (USDC) and $58,000 in Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).

Past records show that this isn’t the inaugural instance of Buterin moving assets to a cryptocurrency exchange. Back in March, he transferred 200 ETH to Kraken. Around that period, he also traded multiple unwanted altcoins for a total of 439.25 ETH.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Trajectory

The recent transaction by Buterin follows closely on the back of the previous week’s sudden crypto market downturn. Last week witnessed Ethereum’s price dropping below the $1700 mark, a price level unseen since June. Current figures suggest it’s still trading below this threshold.

As of now, Coinmarketcap data reveals that the Ethereum price is $1,674.01 with a 24-hour trading volume of $4,268,358, reflecting a minor dip of 0.18% within the past day.

On a brighter note, Glassnode, a blockchain analytics company, points out that Ethereum enthusiasts appear committed to their holdings. A significant trend has been spotted where they are swiftly moving their assets away from cryptocurrency exchanges. Current stats indicate that 14.88 million ETH is stored on these platforms, a figure that hasn’t been recorded since 2018.

When assets are shifted out of exchanges, it’s generally perceived as a positive indicator, implying that the asset is being retained for potential long-term gains. If this trend is an accurate barometer, then despite Ethereum’s recent price challenges, its holders might not be deeply perturbed.

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Tobi Loba

Tobi Loba is a passionate writer with a vast interest in the stock market. She joined the crypto ecosystem about three years ago and has written lots of ebooks and articles in relation to cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. Tobi Loba earned her degree at the University of Ibadan.