Ether climbed above $2,630 on Friday, its highest level since January, after an on-chain wallet tracked by Lookonchain rotated roughly $87 million from Bitcoin into ether and staked the entire position. Separate data shows non-empty Ethereum wallets at a record high, though a single wallet's move is not proof of a wider market shift.
Ether rose above $2,630 on Friday, its highest level since January, gaining about 3% against roughly 1% for Bitcoin in the latest session. Some technical analysts see the approach to $2,800 as the next area of interest, though that reading is an interpretation rather than a settled trend.
A wallet rotates from Bitcoin into staked ether
An on-chain wallet tracked by Lookonchain sold about 1,100 BTC, worth around $87 million, on the decentralised platform Hyperliquid over five days, then bought about 34,400 ETH and staked the entire position. The average purchase price of roughly $2,500 per ether sits below recent trading near $2,650, according to Lookonchain. The firm said the wallet has made the same switch before, pointing to a repeated strategy rather than a one-off trade.
Staked ether is committed to the network's validation process rather than sitting ready to sell, so it can thin the supply available to the market — a mechanism, not a measurement. One wallet does little to move overall supply, and staking does not reveal how long the holder intends to stay in the position. The reports also do not say whether the trade was executed in spot markets, and Hyperliquid is built around leveraged perpetual contracts, so it is not yet clear this was a simple portfolio switch.
Wider participation, but no confirmed demand shift
Santiment data showed non-empty Ethereum wallets reaching a record of about 207 million, with more than 40 million ETH staked and around $50 billion locked in DeFi applications. A record wallet count measures addresses holding any balance, however, so it does not necessarily mean fresh buying or higher demand for ETH. Bitcoin.com News separately reported that a different wallet sold 866 BTC for about 26,900 ETH shortly before the CLARITY Act vote on September 15.
The gains have come against a hawkish backdrop of Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan rate rises, a firmer US dollar, and the failure of the CLARITY Act in the Senate — a combination that suggests digital asset sentiment is holding up better than the macro picture alone would imply, though that reading is again an interpretation.
What would confirm the move
The next test is whether other large wallets make comparable moves and whether staking totals keep rising, along with whether ether can hold its gains against Bitcoin over several sessions using the ETH/BTC ratio. If other large wallets stay quiet, or ether slips back below the $2,600 area while Bitcoin steadies, the whale move will look more like an isolated position.
Source: Investinglive
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