OG whales who accumulated ETH at lower price points moved all their remaining funds to Bitstamp. This move comes as ETH remains above the $3,100 level, indicating a short-term recovery.
ETH OG whale transferred the rest of the balance to Bitstamp. Whales are likely to realize profits after accumulating ETH at an average price of $517. The first whale activity occurred as early as 2017, and the most active accumulation occurred in 2020 and 2021, when ETH traded at local lows.
The whales have been moving funds onto exchanges over the past few days and could sell their stash for a profit of about $274 million. Whale started transferring ETH to Bitstamp over the weekend.
This #EthereumOG bought 154,076 $ETH at an average price of $517 and deposited the remaining 26,076 $ETH ($80.88M) to #Bitstamp 5 hours ago for a total profit of ~$274M (+344%). https://t.co/dYPrI3hRBh pic.twitter.com/B52V8VijNG
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 12, 2026
So far, the OG whale position has had a limited impact on the market price of ETH. Although the market has stabilized above $3,100, neutral Emotions.
OG Ethereum whale positions are absorbed into the market
In total, the Ethereum OG whale acquired 154,046 ETH over time. Whale has been holding continuously since November 2021, waiting for the impact of the crash and FTX collapse in early 2022. Whale was primarily active in the spot market and had no positions on derivatives exchanges or hyperliquid from its original accumulation address.
The ETH OG whale began distributing tokens on October 2, 2025, just before the market crash. In the past day, the wallet distributed the last 26,000 ETH through Bitstamp deposits. |Source: Arkham Intelligence
The whale’s wallet was held for many years without new accumulation. After years of waiting, Whale’s first sale took place on October 2, 2025, just before one of the market’s biggest liquidation events.
Whale then sold some of his remaining ETH at the end of November. All remaining tokens were then sold and Bitstamp received 26,000 ETH, resulting in a final balance of $23.
Even at that level of deposits, ETH foreign exchange reserves have hardly changed. Even if whales are sold, the market is still absorbing additional tokens for now.
Bitstamp reserves remain near all-time lows, suggesting a whale of an over-the-counter trade could be in the offing. Bitstamps are retained around 8.57 million Ethereum Reserves have declined by more than 50% since August 2025.
Whales remain bullish on ETH
ETH is primarily traded by whales, with a mix of profit taking and accumulation. Crowd sentiment has been much more bearish lately than the smart money and whales.
$ETH sentiment
Crowd = Bearish 🟥
MP = bearish 🟥Check sentiment and other crypto stats at https://t.co/HQDyBNv73S pic.twitter.com/a4auZzyd9E
— Market Prophit (@MarketProphit) January 12, 2026
ETH is still flowing into accumulation addresses as large buyers absorb short-term selling. Even the selling of the OG whale was offset by the latest buying from Bitmine, which added 109,504 ETH.
The whales’ recent actions may be an attempt to profit during a time when the market is relatively liquid. ETH trading volume has recovered to the upper end of the range of around $20 billion daily, providing more selling opportunities.
Bitstamp does not offer ETH premium or staking services and can only be used for selling on the spot market.
