Ethereum has regained the $1,650 level after the massive drop that defined last week’s market action – a recovery attempt that has provided some relief after a correction that tested the resolve of even the most conviction-driven holders. The rebound is welcome, but data from Arkham Intelligence revealed a wallet’s trading history that made the decline look exactly like what it was: an expected event rather than a surprise.
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The wallet – identified as owned by an Ethereum OG, a holder whose history with the asset stretches back to the earliest stages of its existence – executed a series of exits before the crash that, in retrospect, represent one of the most precisely timed large-scale risk reductions visible in the on-chain data.
Before the outage, the wallet was selling 60,000 ETH worth about $117.25 million and 9,442 wstETH worth about $24 million – both at an average price of $2,040. During the same period, the wallet also sold 600 WBTC worth approximately $47.12 million at an average price of $78,538.
The combined exit totaled approximately $188 million across three separate assets – all executed at prices that now seem prescient given where both Ethereum and Bitcoin have traded since then. The wallet did not reduce risk after the crash. It reduced the risk for it – and the precision of that timing is the detail that makes the Arkham data worth fully examining.
The transaction was executed perfectly
The Arkham facts reveals the second half of the strategy that makes the entire series remarkable. After exiting about $188 million via ETH, wstETH, and WBTC before the crash, the wallet waited – and then rebuilt the entire position at the prices the crash delivered.
On the Bitcoin side, 611 WBTC was bought back at an average price of $63,280 – compared to the average of $78,538 at which the position was sold. The difference between these two prices represents approximately $9,300 per coin spread across 611 tokens – approximately $5.7 million in realized spread on the Bitcoin leg alone.
Ethereum OG Whale timing the market | Source: Arkham
On the Ethereum side, 60,088 ETH and 10,000 wstETH were bought back at an average price of $1,606 – compared to the average of $2,040 at which the combined position was liquidated. The difference of $434 per ETH over approximately 70,000 tokens represents approximately $30 million in additional value captured during the round trip.
The entire trade – sell the top, ride the crash, buy the bottom – executed simultaneously across three assets and totaling nearly $160 million in bought-back exposure, describes a level of market timing and conviction that the on-chain data makes impossible to dismiss as coincidence.
This was not luck. It was a plan – and Arkham’s data shows every step of it.
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Ethereum Price Tests New Cycle Lows as Collapse Accelerates
Ethereum remains under intense selling pressure after losing the critical support zone at $1,800 and collapsing towards the $1,500-$1,600 range. The daily chart shows a clear bearish market structure, with ETH trading below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages, all of which continue to slope downward. This alignment confirms that momentum remains firmly in sellers’ favor despite the recent recovery attempt.
Ethereum loses key support level | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
The key technical development is the decisive collapse below the February support zone around $1,800-$1,900. That area served as a key demand region for nearly four months, repeatedly absorbing selling pressure in March, April and May. Its failure indicates that buyers have lost control of one of the key support levels of the current cycle.
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While ETH has seen a modest recovery from its recent low near $1,520, the recovery remains weak relative to the size of the sell-off. For bulls, the first challenge is to regain $1,800, which now acts as overhead resistance after the breakdown.
As long as Ethereum remains below that former support zone and below its key moving averages, rallies will likely be seen as upswings rather than trend reversals. The current price structure suggests that the market is still looking for a sustainable bottom, after recording the lowest levels since capitulating in February.
Featured image of ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com