The price of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a decline after a wallet associated with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin moved 600 ETH to the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The digital asset was trading at $1,660 as of 12:25 p.m. ET, marking a 0.5% decrease over the past 24 hours and a more than 10% decline over the past week, according to CoinGecko.
Analysis from Lookonchain revealed that Buterin repaid a loan of 251,000 RAI on the Maker protocol and subsequently withdrew 1,000 ETH. The wallet, linked to Buterin’s ENS domain “Vitalik.eth,” made the transactions approximately 11 hours prior to the report.
Interestingly, Buterin’s move contrasts with prevailing market sentiment. CryptoQuant metrics indicate a reduction of 2.5 million ETH in Ethereum exchange reserves since August 7, reflecting a total of 14.9 million ETH held on global exchanges. This decline signifies traders transferring Ether to cold storage, suggesting a sentiment to hold the digital asset.
Glassnode data highlights that the amount of ETH held on exchanges is at its lowest level since 2018, aligning with the broader trend of investors moving away from exchange platforms.
The reason behind Buterin’s transfer of Ether to Coinbase remains unclear. This move echoes a similar action taken in May when he transferred a significant amount to Kraken, possibly signaling his perception of an impending market downturn.
