Jeffrey Wilcke: Ethereum Co-Founder Sends $262M of ETH to Kraken

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Ethereum co-founder, Jeffrey Wilcke, just sent 105,737 ETH, or $262M worth, from his public address, 0xa7E, to Kraken. This left his public addresses with just 267.73 ETH, a mere 0.25% of his original holding. On-chain observers speculated that he deposited with the intention to sell, as many early ETH adopters do.

Movements of this magnitude from an Ethereum co-founder are always significant. The market often interprets large transfers to centralized exchanges like Kraken as a potential signal for an impending sell-off, which can create bearish sentiment.

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However, not long after the deposit, a Kraken hot wallet, 0x267, was observed transferring out 105,736 ETH out to eight separate addresses. These addresses were all fresh addresses, which all received a 1 ETH test transaction before receiving the remaining balance. It is possible that Jeffrey Wilcke simply wanted to distribute some of his ETH holdings into new wallet addresses, possibly for security purposes.

This subsequent withdrawal from Kraken complicates the simple "intent to sell" narrative. The creation of fresh wallets suggests a different kind of on-chain activity, rather than straightforward liquidation.

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Splitting a large holding across multiple new addresses is a common security practice. This action can reduce the risk associated with a single wallet being compromised.