- This week, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital transferred 25,000 ETH, worth over $40 million, to Binance in just three days.
- Historically, when investors or firms move crypto into exchanges, it typically indicates that they might be preparing to sell.
- Galaxy Digital recently agreed to pay a $200 million fine to settle allegations of market manipulation with Terra’s LUNA token, explaining the sale
This week, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital transferred an eye-popping 25,000 ETH, worth over $40 million, to Binance in just three days. The timing and size of this transfer have led to wide speculation about the firm’s strategy and what such a large transfer could mean for the price of Ethereum. Here’s a closer look at what has been happening and what traders should watch out for in the coming days.
Galaxy Digital’s Massive Ethereum Transfers
The firm in question is a major crypto investment company led by billionaire investor Mike Novogratz. This week, the company sent two large Ethereum transfers to Binance within as little as three days, in what appears to be an attempt to sell. The first transaction took place on 12 April and involved 12,500 ETH, which was split into batches of 4,500 ETH worth $7.11 million and 8,000 ETH worth $12.63 million.
Only three days later, on 15 April, the firm repeated the same move with another 12,500 ETH, this time divided into transactions of 2,500 ETH (worth $4.05 million) and 10,000 ETH (worth $16.32 million). This means that, overall, Galaxy Digital has moved over $40 million worth of ETH into the exchange. Historically, when investors or firms move crypto into exchanges, it typically indicates that they might be preparing to sell, rebalance their portfolio, make strategic trades or perform some other function that involves selling crypto.
Ethereum Price Dips Amid Transfers
The first wave of transfers on 12 April saw Ethereum experience a modest gain with a 1.2% gain from $1,628 to $1,648. Soon after the second transfer on 15 April, however, the price of the cryptocurrency slipped by around 0.4% and is now trading at around $1,635 after dipping from $1,648 only a few hours ago. These price movements might be unrelated to the transfer as a whole.
However, their timing shows the influence that large players can have on the crypto market, with even a modest dip in Ethereum’s price depending on triggers like these. Keep in mind that while the transfers happened, Binance saw the ETH/BTC and ETH/USDT trading pairs experience trading volume spikes of 15% and 10%, respectively, within the same period. The market has so far responded quickly to the move, with traders closely watching Galaxy Digital’s wallet activities.
Legal Pressure Could Be Driving Strategy Shifts
So why could Galaxy Digital be making these moves? For starters, the ETH transfers come in the wave of a major legal settlement with the SEC. The firm recently agreed to pay a $200 million fine to settle allegations of market manipulation tied to Terra’s LUNA token.
Recall that back in 2020, Galaxy secured a deal to purchase LUNA at a discount while publicly promoting the token. However, as LUNA’s price surged, the firm allegedly sold its holdings and pocketed large profits without proper disclosures. As a result of this move, the New York Attorney General launched an investigation that led to the firm demanding such a hefty settlement.
The legal saga could explain why Galaxy is now making large moves with its assets. The firm is either liquidating assets to cover legal fees, or is distancing itself from Ethereum as a whole. Either way, the timing of these transactions is difficult to ignore.
