A leading crypto analytics firm says the top 200 Ethereum (ETH) holders have started buying en masse over the past year, snapping up more than $2.9 billion worth of the leading altcoin.
According to Santiment, these are now the 200 largest ETH whales to cling over 62 million ETH with a value of approximately $124.1 billion, an increase of approximately 14.5 million ETH from the same time last year.
Santiment also says there was a huge spike in the number of ETH wallets created on Monday, the largest since July.
“The 200 largest Ethereum wallets now collectively hold 62.76 million ETH, currently worth approximately $124.1 billion. They have collected 30.3% more coins since November 21, 2022. Additionally, 94,700 new ETH wallets were created yesterday, the highest peak since July.”
Then the company say that the broader crypto markets fell after the Binance news broke.
“The bomb news of [Changpeng Zhao] his resignation after the DOJ (US Department of Justice) found him guilty of money laundering and fraud is still in the mainstream. Altcoins have been extra volatile and buy-the-dip opportunities could arise depending on how much FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) this creates.”
The firm say that Binance’s ecosystem native token Binance Coin (BNB) was among the hardest hit.
“Binance Coin has understandably been one of the altcoins hit hardest by the news [Changpeng Zhao] stepping down as CEO. But if there is a quick reputational recovery for crypto’s number one exchange, a BNB bounce would likely be based on this level of trader FUD.”
The firm suggests that a decline in the number of altcoins had already started before the Binance news. The company also notes that it appears that some BNB holders are exchanging their coins for FTX’s native token FTT.
“While many see the Binance news as the main culprit for one of the biggest retracements of the year, the fact is that altcoins were already seeing shrinking market caps. Interestingly, it appears that some traders are exchanging their BNB for FTX’s FTT.”
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