A major on-chain movement hit Ethereum last night. According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi, Jeffrey Wilcke, an early co-founder who had been dormant for 7 months, moved 79,258.61 ETH (worth roughly $154 million) to the Kraken exchange. Large inflows to exchanges are often seen as a potential selling signal, immediately drawing market attention.
Transfer Completed in 5 Minutes
The transaction was executed through 4 linked addresses within just 5 minutes. Wilcke's wallet had been inactive for 7 months; his previous major transfer occurred 8 months ago, when he moved about $41 million worth of ETH. After this latest move, the address still holds approximately 27,421.73 ETH.
Jeffrey Wilcke, a co-founder of Ethereum, is best known for developing Geth, the most widely used Ethereum client. He initially received about 463,000 ETH at genesis. In recent years, his focus has shifted to his game studio, Grid Games.
ETH Drops Below $1,950
With Bitcoin showing continued weakness, ETH is currently trading at $1,948, extending its recent slide with no strong rebound in sight. A founder-level transfer of this size amplifies market sensitivity. While moving tokens to an exchange does not guarantee an immediate sell-off, the sudden activity after months of silence is widely interpreted as a tactical reduction signal. Whether the market can absorb this potential selling pressure will depend on overall liquidity and on-chain flows in the coming days.