344% Return! Early Ethereum investors liquidated 1.54 million ETH in 2 days, earning $274 million

An early Ethereum investor is engaging in a large-scale cash-out. This investor purchased 154,076 ETH at an average price of $517, and over the past two days has been gradually liquidating, realizing a total profit of $274 million with a return on investment of 344%. The latest transaction occurred 5 hours ago, with the remaining 26,000 ETH ($80.88M) deposited into an exchange, which could indicate a larger sell-off is imminent.

Cash-Out Timeline and Scale

According to on-chain data tracking, this investor’s liquidation occurred in two phases:

In the past two days, a total of 114,251 ETH was cashed out, with:

• Phase 1: 40,251 ETH deposited, valued at approximately $124M

• Phase 2 (latest): 26,000 ETH deposited, valued at approximately $80.88M

This means the investor has liquidated 74% of their total holdings, leaving about 40,000 ETH not yet moved to exchanges. Considering there is still a large amount of ETH to be liquidated, further inflows may occur.

The Investment Story Behind the Numbers

The story behind these figures is clear: an early Ethereum investor, holding for over 10 years, is now cashing out near the all-time high. The $517 purchase price corresponds to Ethereum’s early stages, when the project was far from mainstream recognition.

Market Impact Analysis

Short-term selling pressure risk

Large ETH inflows into exchanges are often seen as bearish signals. The 114,251 ETH entering centralized exchanges in a short period could exert downward pressure on the price from a liquidity perspective. Recent data shows ETH has increased by 0.86% in the past 24 hours but has decreased by 1.57% over the past 7 days, indicating market sentiment is unstable.

Deeper implications

However, this liquidation more likely reflects a natural wealth realization cycle rather than a market top signal:

• Early investors often cash out part of their holdings after the project matures, which is normal asset allocation behavior
• A holding period of over 10 years demonstrates strong confidence and patience
• The liquidation is being done in batches rather than all at once, indicating the investor is considering market impact

Market context

It is worth noting that this liquidation occurred during a particular market period. Recent data shows Ethereum ETFs experienced a net outflow of 58,000 ETH in the past 24 hours (-$182.77M), while over the past 7 days, there was a net inflow of 56,000 ETH. This suggests institutional investor sentiment is fluctuating, and the market is in a wait-and-see phase.

Lessons from Investor Behavior

Why now?

Although the news does not specify reasons, based on timing, this investor might be considering:

• Risk management: Taking profits when holdings and prices are relatively high is a rational choice
• Market sentiment: Current market uncertainties (such as ETF outflows, geopolitical risks) may prompt long-term holders to reassess risks
• Asset allocation: After realizing $274 million in profits, the investor might want to diversify their portfolio

Historical comparison

Such large-scale liquidations are not uncommon in crypto history, but cases with such scale and high returns are rare. This reflects Ethereum’s long-term value as the first-generation smart contract platform and the foresight of early participants.

Summary

The key points of this liquidation event are:

An early Ethereum investor is gradually cashing out over 10 years of investment gains, which may exert short-term downward pressure on ETH prices. However, from a broader perspective, this is simply a normal wealth realization process and should not be overinterpreted as a market top signal.

Market participants should pay attention to two follow-up developments: first, whether this investor continues to liquidate the remaining 40,000 ETH; second, whether other early whales follow suit. If a large-scale liquidation wave occurs, that would warrant serious caution. For now, this is more of a historic moment worth noting — witnessing the wealth story of early believers.