Vitalik Buterin makes a massive ETH transfer – A good move or bad?

• Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s founder, transferred 400 ETH to Coinbase.
• Ethereum’s gas usage declined despite falling gas prices.

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrencies, the actions of large holders can send shockwaves through the market, affecting sentiment and influencing trading behavior. Recently, a notable transfer of 400 ETH, equivalent to approximately $632,000, was made by none other than Ethereum [ETH] founder Vitalik Buterin.

vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) deposited 400 $ETH($632K ) to #Coinbase 30 mins ago.https://t.co/q6Y6MuNrdF pic.twitter.com/idy96sxZxO

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 25, 2023

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The move to deposit a substantial amount into Coinbase caught the attention of the crypto community, as it signaled a significant shift in Vitalik’s holdings.

ETH starts to move

Vitalik’s transfer, while commanding attention, was not an isolated incident. It was part of a broader trend where Ethereum ICO participants, some dormant for many years, began making significant moves.

Recently one such participant transferred 32.1 ETH to Coinbase. This particular address was associated with shemnon.eth, a prominent Ethereum Core Developer recognized for substantial contributions to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Another compelling event involved a whale who actively participated in the ICO phase of Ethereum. This whale deposited a whopping 6,000 ETH, valued at nearly $10 million, into the Kraken exchange.

This move harkened back to the early days of Ethereum when this individual acquired 254,908 ETH at an approximate price of $0.31 per ETH.

State of ETH

In the last 24 hours, there has been a remarkable surge in ETH trading volume as it doubled. This surge indicates heightened market interest and potential volatility.

However, amidst this increase in trading activity, the price of ETH has seen a slight decline of 1.01%. This price movement underscored the inherent volatility that characterizes the cryptocurrency market, where rapid price fluctuations can occur in response to a myriad of factors.

Realistic or not, here’s ETH’s market cap in BTC terms

Furthermore, Ethereum’s gas usage has shown a notable decrease, signaling reduced network activity. Despite falling gas prices, the overall activity on the network has waned. According to glassnode’s data, the mean gas price of ETH just reached an 8-month low of 16.515 GWEI.

? #Ethereum $ETH Mean Gas Price (7d MA) just reached a 8-month low of 16.515 GWEI

View metric:https://t.co/lIfeeyqwEs pic.twitter.com/S37jcIq3yx

— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) September 24, 2023

The low gas price failed to attract users to Ethereum at the time of writing.

Source: Santiment