In a significant development, Ethereum’s (ETH) price experienced a notable drop on Tuesday, falling to $1,577, representing a 2.9% decrease, as reported by CoinMarketCap. This price slump has been attributed to the Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) recent liquidation of 1,700 ETH, exchanged for Circle’s USDC via the Uniswap platform, according to data sourced from Scopescan. It is believed that this transaction was executed to fulfill operational expenses and support various independent projects and grants.
The EF’s recent move has sparked mixed sentiments in the cryptocurrency market, leading to heightened debate and division within the crypto community. Concurrently, Ethereum’s transaction fees have reached their lowest point for the year, while the digital currency teeters around the $1,550 mark. Some analysts interpret this as a potential indicator of an imminent shift in the market.
The financial statement released by the EF disclosed its holdings, indicating that as of April 2022, it possessed approximately 395,000 ETH, constituting 0.297% of Ethereum’s total supply. Following the recent sale, the EF now retains 316,488 ETH, with a total valuation of $502.7 million. Ethereum continues to account for 99.1% of the EF’s cryptocurrency holdings, with the recent sale excluded from this statistic.
It’s worth noting that historically, sizable transactions by the EF have had a substantial impact on market dynamics. For instance, in May 2023, a $28.5 million transfer to the Kraken exchange coincided with price peaks for Ethereum. Similarly, during that month, Ethereum achieved a seven-month high in social dominance.
These developments will be further discussed and analyzed at Benzinga’s upcoming “Future of Digital Assets” event. In the meantime, analytics firm Santiment anticipates a forthcoming turnaround for Ethereum due to its record-low fee levels in 2023 and increasing trader impatience amid a broader market decline.
