The crypto whale opened a leveraged tiny position in Ether (ETH) worth over $100 million, even as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin promised smaller token sales through the Ethereum Foundation.
Key takeaways:
- The whale could face potential losses of over $1 million as the ETH price rebounds towards tiny liquidation levels.
- Buterin claims that the Ethereum Foundation is “selling less ETH” despite releasing over 60,000 ETH earlier this year.
The ETH whale faces potential losses of over $1 million
As of Monday, the “0x50b…” wallet had a tiny position of 47,600 ETH worth approximately $100.72 million. Hypurrscan data. The trade used approximately 23x cross leverage, with an entry price of close to $2,094.92.
ETH was trading around $2,115, leaving the position with an unrealized loss of just under $994,000. The trader also paid approximately $2,145 in financing, which increased the cost of maintaining the bearish bet.
Ethereum Whale Tiny Position Data. Source: Hypurrscan.IO
The liquidation price of the position was close to $2,150, leaving little room for error. A modest move higher in ETH could push the whale’s losses to over $1 million and potentially wipe out the tiny position.
This puts the whale in a vulnerable position if Ethereum continues to rebound from its weekend low around $2,000, especially as global risk sentiment improves due to signs of easing tensions between the US and Iran.
Related: Ethereum traders warn of a “nasty” drop in the ETH price if the support at the 2,000 level is broken. dollars
Still, the trade volume shows that some enormous investors are still willing to bet aggressively against ETH, despite recent attempts by Ethereum’s massive names to tranquil market fears.
Ethereum foundation “sells less ETH,” says Vitalik Buterin
Co-founder Vitalik Buterin promised that the Ethereum Foundation would “sell less ETH” as part of a broader effort to make the organization leaner, more focused and more sustainable.
The commitment appeared in long post X where Buterin defended the direction of the foundation after a wave of researcher departures.
He said EF is choosing “longevity over breadth,” meaning it will reduce expenses, narrow its mission and avoid acting like Ethereum’s central command structure.
The Ethereum Foundation has faced repeated backlash over its token sales, with critics arguing that sustained sales could put pressure on ETH during delicate market conditions.
According to data resources, the Foundation sold approximately 20,000 ETH in 2026, raising over $45 million Arkham Intelligence. while maintaining approximately 103,000 ETH in liquid treasury assets and another 70,000 ETH was staked.
Ethereum Foundation ETH Balance. Source: Arkham Intelligence
Nevertheless, Buterin’s assurance comes at a time when institutional belief in Ethereum appears to be waning.
In 2026, several enormous cryptocurrency holders reduced their exposure to ETH amid delicate price action and a multi-year decline relative to Bitcoin.
Harvard Management Company reportedly exited its $87 million position in the Ethereum ETF after just one quarter, while Goldman Sachs reduced its holdings in the ETH ETF by approximately 70%, leaving approximately $114 million invested.
Spot Ethereum ETFs continue to drive capital loss, with net outflows of over $295 million in May and net withdrawals of over $945 million in 2026.
ETH US Spot ETF net flows. Source: Glassnode
Bankless co-founder David Hoffman, one of Ethereum’s most noticeable, long-time supporters, he said he sold all of his personal ETH holdings, symbolically increasing concerns that even Ethereum-native investors are reassessing their confidence.
Source: X
However, some analysts, including Tanaka, still see Ethereum as a powerful long-term buy, arguing that its underlying on-chain economy remains tough to match with rival blockchains.
According to Token Terminal, Ethereum still anchors the majority of real cryptocurrency activity, providing approximately $43 billion in DeFi liquidity, over $165 billion in stablecoins, and approximately 55% of tokenized assets tracked on public blockchains. data.
