This week, the crypto markets have put Ethereum in the spotlight, with the altcoin outperforming even Bitcoin and signaling a distinct change in investor sentiment. Massive amounts of ETH have flowed out of exchanges, suggesting that a move into cold storage has taken place. Cold storage is when traders move their assets off exchanges and into hardware wallets, a storage solution that is much more secure than keeping crypto on an exchange. Ethereum appears to have very secure long-term holders. ETH experienced unusually large exchange outflows this week while it outperformed Bitcoin; both signs that traders are buying and moving coins into cold wallets. pic.twitter.com/ce3C4Hwx3A — Sentora (previously IntoTheBlock) (@SentoraHQ) May 30, 2025 Exchange Outflows Suggest Strategic Accumulation This week, Ethereum saw extremely large volumes of coins leaving centralized exchanges, which is an indicator that has usually foreshadowed an increase in the cryptocurrency’s price. When Ethereum and other altcoins are moving off exchanges in large amounts, it’s a net positive for their prices. Although Bitcoin has had a relatively stable price, Ethereum has performed significantly better and continued to do so over the same timeframe. This performance differential, along with net outflows, signals a change in sentiment. Investors seem to be moving into ETH as they anticipate major events that could catalyze the price. This sentiment has been intensified by recent spot inflows into Ethereum exchange-traded funds in the U.S. On May 29, those funds recorded a total net inflow of $91.93 million. The funds, in fact, are riding a streak of nine consecutive days of positive net inflows. With these kinds of consistent inflows, Ethereum ETFs are a way for institutions and retail investors to access Ethereum in a regulated manner. And this kind of demand for something like an Ethereum ETF is a sign of growing accessibility for crypto. On May 29 (ET), U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total net outflow of $359 million, ending a 10-day streak of net inflows. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $91.93 million, marking a 9-day streak of net inflows. https://t.co/ueXcZjub6m — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 30, 2025 Dormant ICO Whales Awaken: Massive ETH Movements Raise Eyebrows Together with the wider market, two Ethereum wallets from the time of the ICO have awakened from long dormancy and are now making huge transactions that have caught the eye of blockchain analysts. An early participant in the Ethereum ICO has an address tied to it and at one time held a mind-boggling 1 million ETH. Just five hours ago, this address moved 959.69 ETH to the OKX exchange. At current market valuations, the transferred amount is approximately worth $2.54 million. Despite this massive transaction, the address still retains a whopping 50,704 ETH on-chain, valued at around $132 million. 这次是两个 ICO 巨鲸一起发力了，成本都是低至 0.31 美金的大佬 1⃣ ETH ICO 100 万枚 $ETH 巨鲸 5 小时前向 #OKX 充值 959.69 ETH，价值 254 万美元；链上仍剩余 50704 ETH，价值 1.32 亿美元 https://t.co/JFVlWHNe7N 2⃣ 2015 年 ICO 10 万枚 $ETH 的 OG 3 小时前向 #Kraken 充值 587 ETH，价值… https://t.co/xOj0szBX2C pic.twitter.com/5Rh5zgUmVE — Ai 姨 (@ai_9684xtpa) May 30, 2025 Not only is this address’s holding large, but it also has a significant historical context. According to blockchain records, this wallet acquired its ETH during the ICO at the astonishingly low price of around $0.31 per coin. Such moves made by early adopters can be interpreted in various ways — they may have been profit-taking or involve a kind of strategic reallocation. This week also saw news emerge about a second wallet, believed to be associated with a participant in the 2015 Ethereum ICO and currently holding around 100,000 ETH. Just three hours ago, this wallet transferred 587 ETH to Kraken, which, at the current market rate, equates to about $1.56 million. Since March 13, 2023, the same address has sold a total of 14,398 ETH, bringing in approximately $28.47 million at an average price of $1,977. This slow and almost laboriously drawn-out sell-off pattern indicates that if this address is indeed a whale, it’s presently exiting either the Ethereum or Web3 space, or diversifying its assets. Market Implications and the Road Ahead These synchronized actions create a many-sided depiction of Ethereum’s contemporary condition. On one side, institutional investors are embracing Ethereum with a swift-paced buying frenzy, as shown by the ETF inflow now stretching across nine consecutive days. On the other side, a handful of very old and very large Ethereum holders — some of which have been clutching their assets since the Ethereum ICO back in 2014 — are starting to sell off portions of their holdings after nearly a decade. Even with these substantial sales, ETH’s price has held strong, thanks to the collective confidence in the crypto market and because of the dwindling supply of liquid Ethereum resulting from the cold wallet migrations. If the current trend of outflows holds, Ethereum may see less of an obligation to sell and more of a platform for price increases. Ethereum 2.0 is in a progressive stage of its upgrades, layer 2 adoption is rising, and ETF inflows are on the upswing, putting Ethereum (ETH) in a robust position. Yet, even with all these positive developments, there is a group of investors who could still negatively impact Ethereum’s price in the near term. Those investors are the ICO whales. Ethereum is proving its relevance yet again as the crypto market heads into the second half of 2025. It’s not just a smart contract platform; it’s a maturing financial asset drawing interest from both long-term believers and institutional capital. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news !
