Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes sold altcoins worth $22.28M, starting with Ethereum, and pointed to macro and geopolitical risk. Ethereum also faces pressure from ETF outflows and a possible end to Bitmine's buying.
Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes has sold $22.28M worth of altcoins, starting with Ethereum. The sale included 6,400 ETH worth $15.2M, plus $2.76M of Ethena and $2.24M of Uniswap. The firm also offloaded EtherFi, Aerodrome and Zama.
Hayes explained the move by pointing to the market backdrop. According to AMBCrypto, he said: "I think we gotta go down to go up." He said the Maelstrom directional book took profits on ETH, ENA, UNI and other tokens.
Fear of Iran tension weighs on markets
US equity markets closed lower on Friday. BTC also dropped to $80K after speculation that the U.S. was moving its personnel out of the Middle East, which suggests potential renewed tension with Iran.
Ethereum, however, faces pressure from several fronts. ETH has been the most sold crypto asset by ETF investors in October, with $1.1B in monthly outflows, nearly 3x more than BTC's $313M.
Ethereum loses other demand channels
Early Ethereum investors are cashing out too. Some of them sold over $8M worth of ETH in the past 48 hours.
Bitmine, meanwhile, has accumulated 6.053M ETH, or 99% of its 5% ETH supply target. As a result, it could stop buying at any time and close another demand channel. Record staking demand is a possible positive catalyst, but it also means new issuance rewards for stakers, which adds to supply.
Ethereum tests the $2,300 support
If the macro and geopolitical backdrop does not improve, further downside risk could be likely. Losing $2,364 could drag ETH to $2,200 or $2,100.
The $2300-$2400 zone has been a key support area since September. ETH has dropped by 15% from the recent high of $2,800.
Source: AMBCrypto
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