Ethereum’s top 10 largest holders’ wallets are displaying a noteworthy trend, as reported by Santiment, a prominent data aggregator. The wallets associated with exchanges have experienced a decline, reaching 8 million ETH, marking the first instance in 24 weeks and hitting a 6-month low. In contrast, non-exchange wallets have surged to an unprecedented high, reaching 41.03 million $ETH. This shift suggests a growing trend among whales to transfer more coins into self-custody.
This development carries significance as whales currently control 52% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, reinforcing the thesis that it may positively impact the price of ETH. Notably, this movement aligns with a slight uptick in the trajectory of ETH prices after a recent 5% drop. Despite this, the leading altcoin is maintaining its position above the crucial $2,000 level.
The observed trend also coincides with the Ethereum Foundation’s recent transfer of $2 million worth of ETH. The Ethereum Foundation, the organization behind the creation of the ETH blockchain, has executed similar transfers in the past. Notably, they moved 1,000 ETH to the same multi-signature wallet almost three months ago and another 1,000 ETH about six months ago.
The purpose behind these transactions remains unclear, and there has been no official commentary from any Ethereum representative regarding their intent. The altcoin remains a focal point of discussion concerning the issue of staking centralization.
Vitalik Buterin’s Blueprint for Ethereum Staking Enhancement
Not long ago, ETH co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the need to revamp Ethereum’s staking process to enhance the efficiency of mining and staking pools, aiming ultimately to increase the platform’s decentralization. He emphasized the upcoming Ethereum Improvement Proposal [EIP] 4844, commonly referred to as Danksharding, anticipated to notably increase the data map space to 16 Megabytes per slot.
Buterin also suggested a fresh voting mechanism to govern future alterations in the ETH network. This system is designed to offer a more democratic and less intrusive process, potentially removing the necessity for hard forks.