Aug 26, 01:09 AM

Bitcoin Whale Swaps $2.6 Billion Into Ether, Jolting Crypto Markets

A long-time Bitcoin holder who received 100,784 BTC seven years ago has spent the past five days off-loading 22,769 BTC—about $2.59 billion—on trading platform Hyperliquid and using the proceeds to accumulate roughly 472,920 ether valued at $2.22 billion, according to on-chain data compiled by Arkham Intelligence. Blockchain records show the same wallet also opened a 135,265-ETH perpetual long position worth about $577 million and later staked 269,485 ETH. Arkham estimates the trader realised nearly $50 million in profit on earlier ether derivatives trades before adding to the spot position. The rotation coincided with a sharp, short-lived sell-off on 25 August, when Bitcoin slipped after a separate $2.4 billion BTC transfer, CoinDesk reported. Both Bitcoin and ether had touched record highs the previous Friday. Dormant wallets are stirring across the market. Early on 26 August, a five-year inactive address moved 2,221 BTC worth roughly $245 million, while a four-year-old Ethereum address withdrew 6,334 ETH—about $28 million—from Kraken. During the same pullback, an OTC desk address spent 99 million USDC to buy 10,000 ETH and added 500 BTC. The cluster of whale transactions underscores the scale at which early adopters can still influence liquidity and suggests some long-term Bitcoin investors are rotating into yield-bearing ether staking even as short-term volatility rattles the broader crypto market.