Ethereum (ETH) is enjoying renewed buying interest from whale wallets. One of the buyers was identified as Justin Sun, founder of TRON and chairman of the TRON Foundation.
Ethereum (ETH) may be of high importance for Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain. Despite being a competitive chain, TRON has remained close to other blockchains in the ecosystem, through partnerships and bridges. Sun has also shown readiness to support projects by holding large-scale wallets.
Recent on-chain analysis showed Sun has added more to his stash of ETH, and is sitting on $50M in unrealized profits.
After the completion of the ETH transfers, the markets rallied again, further lifting the value of Sun’s wallets. ETH recovered to $3,348.03, despite the relatively slim trading volumes of $13B in 24 hours.
The current holdings of Sun have been increasing since January, and now rival the wallets of Ethereum’s own founder Vitalik Buterin, as well as the Ethereum Foundation. The three identified wallets also reveal Sun holds more ETH than some of the high-profile ICO startups.
Also Read: Tron Price Prediction 2024–2030: Will Tron reach $10?
Sun’s two latest purchases follow a proposal to also become a bigger Bitcoin (BTC) whale, by buying a part of the German government’s coins during the latest selling spree. Sun’s plan failed, but not when it comes to also accumulating ETH.
Other analysts have identified additional holdings and wallets, putting Sun in control of upward of 700K ETH. Most of the reserves are used for staking, turning TRON’s founder into one of the large validators. The staking rewards for Sun’s wallets are an estimated 56.7 ETH per day. Ethereum also yielded the most fees in H1, 2024, getting ahead of even the TRON blockchain.
Sun’s wallets on Ethereum and other networks are also scrutinized for connections to the wider crypto, exchange and DeFi ecosystem. Sun is an early Ethereum investor, later moving funds to now-defunct startups like Celsius Network, and even funding the development of FTX.
9 hours ago, Justin Sun allegedly withdrew 14,436 $ETH (~$45.5M) from #Binance.
3 days ago, he deposited 45M $USDT to the CEX; therefore, this time's purchasing price was ~$3,117.
Overall, since Feb 8, he might have bought 377,188 $ETH at ~$3.049 via 3 wallets and now has an… https://t.co/wqhjvnXEGB pic.twitter.com/ZNYFSqDSpu
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) July 14, 2024
Sun’s crypto holdings invite further scrutiny
Other crypto wallets and known holdings of TRON’s founder also invited scrutiny. The reason for this are doubts that Sun’s stablecoin, USDD, has been reusing its collateral.
USDD is an asset-backed stablecoin, but there are doubts that its value has been supported by rehypothecation, instead of directly relying on transparent reserves. USDD has been used on the HTX exchange, which is also closely watched for holding adequate reserves and not re-hypothecating value.
At the end of 2023, USDD changed its reserve ratio to contain a basket of cryptocurrencies, instead of just stablecoins.
A bull market would be a boost to USDD, as it would increase the potential for Sun to boost reserves. It is also possible that rehypothecation is the tool that Sun uses to turn into an ETH whale.
USDD remains one of the riskiest stablecoins, breaking its $1 price on several occasions and falling to lows of $0.96. The 2024 bull market is, for now, keeping USDD relatively close to its $1 peg.
ETH signals breakout to higher price range
The current buying also follows predictions of $10,000 ETH, after the imminent launch and price discovery of the newly approved ETF. Recent ETH money also shows a concerted drive to acquire more tokens, coming from other unidentified whales or “smart money” wallets.
Also Read: Ethereum Whale On The Move As They Dump Holdings To Purchase Mpeppe (MPEPE) At $0.0007
The recent price recovery also completes the recent capitulation event, opening a new opportunity for a higher trading range.
The verdict on ETH now differs, depending on the potential effect of ETF launch. For some, the news has been discounted and ETH will most probably keep close to its current range.
ETH traders hold predominantly short positions. Longs are only 42% on Binance, with similar levels on other centralized exchanges. More optimistic investors see ETH rally similar to Bitcoin (BTC) after the launch of the ETF.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva
