Selling Bitcoin for buying Ethereum? What are whales doing?

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There’s a Bitcoin whale, and it did something strange. For seven long years, this Bitcoin whale, we’re talkin’ a colossal holder with 14,837 BTC valued over $1.6 billion, sits on his stash, holding tight like it’s the family secret recipe.

These coins? Grabbed way back from Binance and HTX exchanges. The kind of diamond hands that make you nod in respect, right?

But now, the whale sells 670 Bitcoin for a cool $76 million. And where does the cash go? Straight into Ethereum, with four long positions totaling 68,130 ETH. Is this a flippening?

Leverage

Now, hold on, what’s going on here? This old-school BTC hoarder is flipping the script, jumping on Ether like it’s the next big play.

This isn’t looks like some random gamble, the move comes right after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high at $124k on August 14, and Ethereum nearly reclaimed its 2021 peak of $4,878. The crypto seas are shifting, guys.

The whale wasn’t subtle about it. Analysts shared that the Ether long positions opened around $4,300, mostly with 10x leverage, and a smaller chunk at 3x leverage.

But just after the whale hopped in, Ether’s price took a tumble, dipping to $4,080.

That pushed three of those positions into red territory, dangerously close to liquidation prices around $3,700.

Institutional players

Despite the wobble, Ether’s making a comeback, ticking up nearly 3% in the last day, trading at $4,270 in the time of writing.

Either way, other whale drama’s been showing up. Someone panicked, dumping thousands of ETH during a dip.

But, guess who showed up too? Institutional players quietly scooping up bags of Ether, two wallets grabbing 9,044 ETH each, worth about $38 million.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly traded crypto company, has bulked up its Ether holdings to 1.52 million tokens valued at $6.6 billion.

Maturing crypto market

Besides Ethereum, old Bitcoin whales are on the move, too. One Satoshi-era whale shifted 80,201 BTC after 14 years of silence. Another woke from a six-year nap, moving over a thousand BTC.

According to crypto analyst Willy Woo, whales with bags over 10,000 BTC have been quietly selling since 2017, answering the question about who’s cashing out amid growing institutional hype.

But chill, this ain’t a panic. Experts say OG Bitcoiners offloading isn’t a sign of doom. New buyers are stepping in, fresh cash flowing, signaling a maturing crypto market.


Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Kriptoworld.com accepts no liability for any errors in the articles or for any financial loss resulting from incorrect information.

András Mészáros
Written by András Mészáros
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | More articles

With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.

📅 Published: August 24, 2025 • 🕓 Last updated: August 24, 2025
✉️ Contact: [email protected]

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