Ethereum’s Unexpected Ally: Hacker Channels $40 Million Amid 25% Price Crash

According to Bloomberg, a wallet linked to a major cryptocurrency heist two years ago swapped $39.75 million worth of the stablecoin DAI to scoop up 16,892 Ethereum (ETH) as the second-largest cryptocurrency plummeted by as much as 23% on Monday.

Crypto Hacker Exploits Ethereum Crash

Per the report, the hacker behind the 2022 attack on the cross-chain bridge protocol Nomad, which resulted in the theft of close to $200 million in crypto, appears to have spotted an opportunity to convert some of their illicit gains into discounted ETH prices. 

On-chain data showed that after purchasing ETH, the hacker then moved the tokens in batches of 100 to Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused exchange service that has come under scrutiny by US regulators for its alleged use to launder illicit funds from crypto hacks.

Despite this, significant selling pressure has prevented a significant bounce for the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market as large corporations have contributed to the ongoing decline. 

Market researcher DeFi Mochi pointed out that the ETH “obliteration” was caused by the capitulation of large investment funds. According to the researcher, venture capital firm Paradigm unloaded 46,000 ETH tokens worth approximately $138 million at $3,000. 

Similarly, asset manager and ETF issuer Grayscale reportedly dumped 372,000 ETH at a valuation of $1.1 billion through its newly approved Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. 

Lastly, market maker Jump Trading has sold over $500 million worth of Ethereum in the past few days after liquidating its funds amid rumors that it is exiting the crypto market maker business.

ETFs See $430 Million In Net Outflows

Amid these bearish developments, digital asset investment products have seen their first significant outflows in over a month, according to the latest report from CoinShares. The report indicates that these products, which include cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds and trusts, experienced total outflows of $528 million last week.

The outflows are believed to be a reaction to growing fears of a recession in the United States, as well as persistent geopolitical concerns and broader liquidations across most asset classes. Trading volumes for these investment products also declined, representing a lower-than-average 25% of the total cryptocurrency market.

Regionally, the majority of the outflows were concentrated in the United States, which saw $531 million in outflows. Germany and Hong Kong also experienced outflows of $12 million and $27 million, respectively. 

However, not all regions were impacted equally, as Canada and Switzerland saw inflows of $17 million and $28 million, respectively, likely taking advantage of the price drop.

Ethereum experienced outflows totaling $146 million, bringing the net outflows since the launch of Ethereum ETFs in the US to $430 million. This data, however, masks the positive inflows of $430 million last week from the newly launched US ETFs, which were offset by $603 million in outflows from the Grayscale Trust. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum managed to regain the $2,450 level, recording drops of 28% in the past week alone and over 31% in the past two weeks despite this minor recovery.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com