BitMine buys 9,176 ETH OTC as the market turns red.Whales split between panic exits and billion-dollar buying.December’s Fusaka upgrade looms as leverage piles up.
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing — your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee because of how whales are splitting. Institutions are quietly loading up, and Tom Lee’s BitMine is moving faster than anyone as a major on-chain pattern breaks. With Ethereum (ETH) stuck in the $3,100 range, and volatility spiking across the market, a new battle line is forming between panic sellers and high-conviction buyers.
Ethereum’s biggest players are suddenly split, and Tom Lee’s BitMine is moving faster than anyone. As ETH hovers near $3,100 with mixed technical signals, whales are either panic-selling at breakeven or doubling down with record-size buys. BitMine has firmly chosen its side.
Despite a sharp market downturn, BitMine continues to accumulate at scale. On-chain data from Lookonchain shows a new BitMine-linked wallet, 0x9973, receiving 9,176 ETH, valued at $29.14 million, directly from a Galaxy Digital OTC wallet.
“Despite the market downturn, Tom Lee’s Bitmine is still buying $ETH,” Lookonchain reported, highlighting Lee’s aggressive strategy.
This follows earlier activity confirming a total accumulation of 19,500 ETH in BitMine, positioning the firm among the most active institutional buyers in November.
A closer look at additional on-chain transactions suggests that broader whale activity is fragmented. A long-term holder, wallet 0x0c19, has just sold 2,404 ETH tokens, valued at $7.7 million, which they had held since August 2021. At today’s prices, the whale appears to be exiting at breakeven, signaling fading confidence after years of inactivity.
Meanwhile, a super-whale known as #66kETHBorrow is doing the opposite. They added another 16,937 ETH ($53.9 million), bringing their total to 422,175 ETH ($1.34 billion) in just a few days. Despite sitting on approximately $126 million in unrealized losses, this whale continues to accumulate with conviction.
Traders Machi Big Brother and Machi Small Brother have also doubled down. Both increased their long positions on Hyperliquid:
Lookonchain notes that both traders added margin as ETH fell to avoid liquidations, signaling confidence in a rebound despite being heavily underwater.
Elsewhere, a Tornado Cash-linked wallet, 0xa13C, sold 4,978 ETH ($16.29 million) at $3,273. On-chain data shows this same entity previously deposited 162,937 ETH, funds associated by analysts with Richard Heart, founder of HEX and PulseChain.
No confirmation has surfaced, but the sale adds to the narrative of whale divergence.
“Crazy accumulation happening behind the scenes,” DeFi researcher 0xNobler said.
The next major catalyst for Ethereum arrives in December, the Fusaka upgrade. Crypto Rover noted that the smaller Pectra upgrade pushed ETH up 50%, adding weight to expectations for renewed volatility.
With whales deeply divided and institutions silently accumulating, Ethereum’s next move may hinge on whether BitMine and other large buyers can flip sentiment before December’s upgrade window.
Here’s a summary of more US crypto news to follow today:
