Efe Nail Saltık 
As the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in the US nears, significant whale activity has drawn attention to Ethereum’s potential price trajectory in the coming weeks.
An Ethereum whale has been observed withdrawing 16,449 ETH, valued at approximately $50.3 million, from Binance. This substantial transaction took place as the price of Ethereum rebounded above $3,000.
According to on-chain data provider Spot On Chain, this whale’s activity marks their first significant accumulation of Ethereum and has generated considerable interest. The entire amount has been moved to a new wallet, where it currently remains held.
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The timing of this withdrawal is particularly notable as it coincides with the anticipated launch of Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) next week. Spot On Chain speculated on the X social platform whether this large-scale transfer could signal a bullish outlook for Ethereum.
The introduction of an ETF is expected to increase institutional interest and investment in Ethereum, potentially driving up its price. The recent whale activity, coupled with the upcoming ETF launch, suggests a period of heightened interest and potential volatility for Ethereum.
According to Cointelegraph’s market report, Ether’s price surged by 10.11%, reaching $3,113 on July 9, up from a low of about $2,830 the previous day. This ETH/USD rally coincided with CoinShares’ weekly report, which indicated that Ether-linked investment funds received inflows of $10.2 million for the week ending July 5.
A few days after these inflows, asset management companies VanEck and 21Shares amended their S-1 registrations with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek approval in July and list and trade shares of a spot Ether ETF. 21Shares also submitted an updated form for its Core Ethereum ETF. While neither filing provided an exact launch date for US exchanges, both stated that the ETFs would launch “as soon as practicable after the effective date” of the registration.
Meanwhile, competition among ETF sponsors has been increasing ahead of the expected rollout of spot Ether funds later this month. On July 9, Invesco and Galaxy set a 0.25% management fee for the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF in a filing to US regulators.
The SEC approved spot Ether ETFs in May. However, investors withdrew $61 million from Ether investment products between June 24 and 29, bringing the total outflows for the month’s end to $119 million and June’s total balance to $37 million in funds withdrawn.
The large-scale ETH transfer by the whale and the anticipation of spot Ether ETFs signal a critical period for Ethereum. Increased institutional interest and investment driven by the introduction of ETFs could lead to significant price movements and increased market volatility in the near term.
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