$600 Million in Ethereum moved in few hours — What’s happening?

Blockchain tracking platform Whale Alert has identified six significant Ethereum transactions, each valued slightly above $100 million, within a single hour. The transactions recorded between anonymous blockchain addresses highlight significant movements in the cryptocurrency market.

Per Whale Alert’s updates, each transaction carried approximately 27,970 ETH, valued between $100.5 million and $100.7 million in fiat terms at the time of the transactions. In total, the six transfers accounted for 168,000 ETH, with a combined value of $609.84 million at current market prices. 

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 27,973 #ETH (100,631,772 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to unknown new wallethttps://t.co/l94v2FILHS

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) January 4, 2025

The scale and rapid succession of these transfers have raised questions among analysts and traders, particularly as Ethereum’s price shows signs of a breakout.

ETH breaks out of the consolidation range 

After weeks of trading within a range of $3,200 to $3,500, ETH has begun to show signs of an upward breakout. The coin is showcasing strong support at the $3,500 level, striving to approach the critical $4,000 resistance zone. The second largest crypto by market size is currently changing hands slightly above the $3,600 level, per Coingecko data. 

Analysts see this as a pivotal psychological and technical barrier, with a decisive breach potentially signaling further gains.

Ether’s most recent decline stabilized within the 0.5 ($3,200) to 0.618 ($3,000) Fibonacci retracement levels. This critical support zone attracted significant buying interest, effectively halting the downtrend and triggering a bullish recovery.

Market analysts are closely watching ETH’s performance at the $4,000 level. A successful breakout could pave the way for a substantial rally, while a rejection at this resistance may lead to extended consolidation or a potential retest of the $3,500 support zone.

As identified by analysts, ETH’s weekly Relative Strength Index (RSI) reset is a bullish signal. Traders suggest this could provide the momentum needed to push ETH above $4,000, noting intentions to increase their spot holdings if the cryptocurrency surpasses $3,500.

Ethereum spot ETFs attract record inflows 

ETH spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have also seen a surge in investor interest. Data from the crypto research platform SosoValue shows total inflows for Ethereum spot ETFs reached $2.1 billion in December. This figure represents 81.5% of the $2.58 billion cumulative inflows since the financial product’s launch.

December’s inflows nearly doubled the $1.08 billion recorded in November, showcasing the growing appetite for Ethereum-based investment vehicles. 

At press time, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) leads with $3.67 billion in net inflows, followed by BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH), and Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), respectively.

Moreover, on January 3, Ethereum ETFs saw an impressive daily net inflow of $58.78 million, according to Chinese cryptocurrency journalist Colin Wu’s X post. BlackRock’s ETHA contributed the lion’s share, with $33.88 million in daily inflows.

This surge in ETH ETF inflows contrasts sharply with activity in BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT). The Bitcoin ETF faced its largest single-day outflow since its launch on Thursday, with $332.6 million, the equivalent of 3,413 BTC withdrawn. This outflow exceeded the previous record set on Dec. 24, when $188.7 million worth 1,933 BTC were pulled from the fund.

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