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A prominent Bitcoin whale long referred to as the “Bitcoin OG” has increased its exposure to Ether (ETH), now holding roughly $3.8 billion in spot ETH after a weekend buying spree. Onchain analytics show the whale sold 4,000 BTC — about $435 million — and used the proceeds to acquire 96,859 ETH during a roughly 12-hour period. The move follows earlier activity this month that established the whale’s total Bitcoin holdings at 100,784 BTC, valued at more than $11.4 billion.
What happened onchain
The trade details
Blockchain data reports the whale swapped 4,000 BTC for nearly 97,000 spot ETH in a single concentrated run of purchases. Shortly after, the same entity deposited another 1,000 BTC into the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid — a deposit that could signal additional Ether accumulation ahead.
Who’s watching
The transaction was flagged by onchain trackers and has been linked to a broader pattern of large Bitcoin holders reallocating capital into Ethereum. A cluster of nine whale addresses also purchased an estimated $456 million worth of ETH in late August, illustrating growing institutional and large-holder interest in Ether.
Why it matters for crypto markets
Market maturity and diversification
Analysts view this shift not as rejection of Bitcoin but as evidence the crypto market is maturing. Long-term BTC holders increasingly treat Bitcoin as digital gold while allocating parts of their portfolios to Ether for staking yields and exposure to smart-contract ecosystems. Pro-regulatory developments in the U.S., such as stablecoin-focused legislation, and recent positive institutional flows into ETH-based products have helped support this rotation.
Potential follow-through
If Ethereum’s momentum persists, capital could cascade into other layer-1 tokens and DeFi-focused projects. Observers point to a classic ‘altseason’ dynamic: when BTC holds steady, investors hunt relative value in ETH and other altcoins like Solana (SOL), especially where consumer apps and DeFi traction exist.
Outlook
While most veteran Bitcoin holders retain significant BTC exposure, this subset of whales reallocating to Ether signals that ETH is increasingly viewed as a core allocation rather than a speculative play. For traders and investors, monitoring whale flows, ETF and staking demand, and regulatory catalysts will be critical to anticipating where large crypto capital rotates next.
Source: cointelegraph
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