Crypto Whales Buy Nearly $500 Million Ether
Large cryptocurrency investors are increasing their exposure to ether, with blockchain data showing that nine whale addresses purchased a combined $456 million worth of ETH from Bitgo and Galaxy Digital, according to Arkham Intelligence. Analysts say this signals an organic rotation of capital away from bitcoin and toward altcoins with stronger growth potential.
Whales rotate into ETH
Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, explained that “a lot of this looks like natural rotation, investors locking in profits from Bitcoin’s run and moving into other tokens to catch potential upside.” He noted that Ether in particular is benefitting thanks to strong momentum and support from treasury companies.
While whale purchases are “notable,” Sondergaard emphasized the broader trend of flows spreading beyond Bitcoin as investors look for the next opportunity. Crypto analyst Willy Woo echoed this view, observing that daily ETH inflows of $0.9 billion are now approaching those of Bitcoin. He pointed out that accumulation began when Tom Lee’s ETH treasury company, BitMine, started building its position.
This activity follows news that a Bitcoin whale worth over $11 billion sold $2.59 billion in BTC last week, reallocating $2.2 billion into spot Ether and $577 million into an Ether perpetual long on Hyperliquid.
Smart money eyes altcoins
Nansen’s “smart money” traders — those with the highest returns — have also been rotating into altcoins, suggesting growing anticipation of an altcoin season in 2025. These traders recently bought $1.2 million worth of Chainlink tokens, $967,000 of Ethena, and $614,000 of Lido DAO.
Chainlink’s surge in interest may be linked to Bitwise Asset Management’s filing for a LINK-based ETF with the SEC. Still, these amounts are small compared to the $28 million in Ether acquired by a dormant whale who had not been active since 2021.
Together, the whale moves and smart money flows highlight a shifting focus from bitcoin into ether and other large-cap altcoins as investors search for the next phase of upside in crypto markets.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-whales-buy-456m-eth-bitcoin-rotation-altcoin-season-2025
https://x.com/arkham/status/1960430114761507262/photo/2