Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has skilled renewed downward strain amid a widespread market crash. After reaching a mid-December excessive of $4,107—nonetheless under its November 2021 all-time excessive of $4,868—ETH slipped under $1,800, marking a 53% drop from its December peak. But whereas merchants scramble to evaluate the depth of this present downturn, a brand new on-chain improvement has momentarily stolen the highlight.
Is It Really The Ethereum Foundation?
A transaction flagged by on-chain analytics service Lookonchain raised alarms this week, suggesting an alleged liquidation threat for the Ethereum Foundation (EF). Lookonchain reported through X: “A wallet suspected to be Ethereum Foundation deposited 30,098 ETH ($56.08M) to Maker to lower the liquidation price 5 hours ago. Currently, this wallet has 100,394 ETH ($182M) on Maker, and the liquidation price is $1,127.06.”
The magnitude of the transaction—reportedly price $56.08 million in ETH deposits—sparked widespread hypothesis about EF’s potential publicity. Lookonchain’s knowledge implied that 30,098 ETH (roughly $182 million) was getting used to again a MakerDAO vault with a liquidation threshold hovering round $1,127, a pivotal stage givenETH’s current value crash.
Chinese crypto information outlet Wu Blockchain was among the many first to flow into the story. However, shortly thereafter, Wu Blockchain supplied a clarification primarily based on analytics from Arkham Intelligence.
The up to date evaluation signifies that the pockets’s connections to the Ethereum Foundation might have been overstated. The tackle, it seems, belongs to an early ETH investor who as soon as interacted with EF’s official wallets however has since managed funds independently. The deposit of 30,098 ETH was presumably a strategic transfer to shore up collateral and decrease the MakerDAO vault’s liquidation value throughout a market downturn.
Wu Blockchain famous through X: “Correction: Although 0x22…1246 was flagged by Arkam as a suspected Ethereum Foundation address, on-chain data confirms otherwise. While this address received a 4M DAI transfer from the Ethereum Foundation ETH Sale in May 2022, its transaction behavior and initial ETH funding trace back to jonny.eth (0xb76), indicating that it is more likely an early ETH investor rather than the Foundation itself. This address deposited 30,098 ETH into the MakerDAO vault today, with an outstanding debt position of 78,035,224.7182 DAI.”
While the liquidation value stays $1,127—a stage that some observers consider might be examined if market pressures persist—there’s presently no official proof linking the vault to the Ethereum Foundation. Consequently, rumors of an EF liquidation appear to be unfounded, given the clarifications introduced forth by Wu Blockchain primarily based on Arkham knowledge.
At press time, ETH traded at $1,925.
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