Ethereum OG sells 8,691 ETH after two years of silence, large-scale sell-off causes market fluctuation

Cryptocurrency Market Monitoring Agency Lookonchain data shows that a long-dormant Ethereum OG address recently became active, transferring the remaining 8,691 ETH in the wallet.

This large transfer, valued at approximately $20.1 million, coincided with a continued decline in Ethereum’s price. According to Gate data, Ethereum’s price during the February 2 trading session briefly touched a low of $2,165.03.

01 Core Event: OG Awakening and Market Timing

The blockchain world is never short of dramatic stories, and “whale awakening” is often one of the most market-moving narratives. According to monitoring, an Ethereum OG address that had been silent for two years suddenly became active.

This address transferred all remaining ETH from two wallets in a short period. Based on the price at the time, this asset was worth up to $20.1 million.

Sudden activity from long-dormant addresses is usually seen as an important signal by market participants. The crypto community often refers to these early participants as “OGs,” and their actions can imply market sentiment or changes in capital needs.

Notably, this large transfer was not an isolated event. Almost simultaneously, well-known research firm Trend Research also deposited 10,000 ETH into Binance, with market analysis suggesting this might be for selling to repay loans.

02 Market Background: Ethereum Breaks Key Support Levels

The selling activity of the Ethereum OG occurred during a sensitive period of overall market decline. According to Gate and other major exchanges, Ethereum’s price broke below the key psychological level of $2,500 on February 1.

The downward trend intensified further on February 2. According to Gate’s market data, Ethereum opened at $2,267.34 and dropped to a low of $2,165.03. As of this writing, ETH is temporarily reported at $2,246.90, a 24-hour decline of 6.99%.

This price performance indicates that Ethereum has broken through multiple key support levels. Market analysts suggest that Ethereum could further decline to $2,200 or even lower, consistent with historical downward patterns.

Technical analysis shows that critical support levels such as $2,800 and $3,125 have been repeatedly breached. Increased market volatility reflects the inherent unpredictability of digital assets.

03 Chain Reaction: Market Sell-offs and Liquidation Wave

The decline in Ethereum’s price combined with the OG address selling activity has heightened market uncertainty. This uncertainty quickly propagated across the entire crypto market, triggering a chain reaction.

Bitcoin, as the market indicator, also came under pressure, falling by 3.45% and breaking below the $80,000 mark. Mainstream tokens like Solana and Dogecoin also showed negative trends.

Market selling pressure directly led to large-scale liquidations. In the past 24 hours, the total amount of crypto liquidations reached as high as $520 million.

Looking at exchange rankings, Hyperliquid led with $128 million in liquidations, while Gate’s liquidation amount was $42.579 million, accounting for 8.19% of total liquidations.

04 Deep Causes: Market Structure and Capital Flows

Analyzing the deeper reasons behind this market adjustment requires examining the fundamental structure of the crypto market and changes in capital flows. Shifts in institutional investor behavior are a key factor.

Early data shows that $564 million of funds flowed out of ETFs, contrasting with previous continuous inflows, indicating a significant change in institutional behavior.

Funds did not flow into Ethereum or other major cryptocurrencies as expected, suggesting broader hesitation toward crypto assets.

On-chain data offers another perspective: despite the market correction, 3.62 million ETH were accumulated during the decline, reflecting differing participant behaviors during the adjustment.

05 Industry Dynamics: Regulation and Development in Parallel

While market prices fluctuate, the crypto industry continues to evolve in regulation and infrastructure development. Regulatory attitudes and policy changes across jurisdictions directly impact market confidence.

Hong Kong is positioning itself as a connector for the global crypto market, leveraging its common law system, free capital flow, and ties with mainland China to link Eastern and Western markets and traditional finance with digital assets.

Recently, France’s financial regulators relaxed restrictions on marketing regulated crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) to retail investors, a policy change that could further integrate Europe’s digital asset market.

India maintained its 30% tax rate on crypto gains and 1% withholding tax in the 2026-27 budget, demonstrating policy continuity in the country’s crypto tax framework.

06 Technological Evolution: Continuous Innovation in the Ethereum Ecosystem

Despite market price fluctuations, Ethereum’s technological ecosystem continues to advance. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently stated that future on-chain mechanism design will adopt a two-layer structure.

This evolution includes an open, accountable execution layer where correct decisions are rewarded and mistakes are penalized. The design aims to improve network efficiency and security.

With the recent launch of the ERC-8004 standard, over 30,000 Trustless Agents based on this standard have been registered on Ethereum, indicating ongoing developer investment in Ethereum infrastructure.

Circle, a major stablecoin issuer, released its 2026 product roadmap, proposing an overarching vision to build an internet finance system, with plans to develop enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure centered on the Arc public chain.

Price Volatility and Market Outlook

Although the market faces short-term adjustment pressures, technical indicators suggest Ethereum may experience a short-term rebound. Combining technical analysis with on-chain data indicates that, despite widespread bearish sentiment among traders, the market may be approaching a short-term bottom.

For investors, repeated testing of key support levels and increased volatility present both challenges and opportunities. Historical patterns show that crypto market adjustments often lay the groundwork for the next growth cycle.

Ethereum’s fundamentals as a smart contract platform and decentralized application ecosystem remain strong despite price fluctuations. Its network effects and developer community continue to be among the most robust in the industry.

Long-term investors might see the current price levels as accumulation opportunities, while short-term traders should closely monitor market sentiment and technical indicators, managing risk carefully on platforms like Gate.