Unknown whale spends $47M accumulating 21,800 ETH in a deliberate long-term bet

May 13, 2026 Bitcoin.com News pan-africa 366 words

TL;DR

A single unidentified wallet spent $46.99 million buying 21,800 ETH since February 15, at an average price of $2,155 per coin, with the latest purchase of 1,500 ETH for $3.43 million made just hours before publication.

The position currently holds approximately $3 million in unrealized profit as ETH trades above $2,300, though the margin is thin, leaving little cushion if prices fall.

The accumulation is happening against a mixed backdrop: on-chain data platforms flagged rising whale activity on Ethereum throughout Q1 2026, while a wallet linked to Garrett Jin, founder of defunct exchange Bitforex, deposited 577,896 ETH into Binance over four days, suggesting large holders are split on Ethereum's near-term direction.

Intelligence

The divergence between aggressive whale accumulation and large-scale ETH deposits to exchanges signals that institutional-scale crypto participants are not aligned on Ethereum's near-term price direction, a split that Nigerian P2P traders and retail ETH holders should watch closely over the next 3 to 6 months.

For Nigerian crypto participants who hold or trade ETH, this kind of whale activity historically precedes heightened volatility in either direction, not a smooth trend.

If the accumulation thesis plays out and ETH recovers toward previous highs, Nigerian traders active on P2P platforms could see improved naira-denominated returns on ETH positions.

7 companies and people in this story have tracked profiles.

Recommended reading

Picked for you by topic, popularity and relevance — not just the newest posts.

Related topics

Lagos-based Drive45 has secured a $3 million debt facility from TLG Capital to expand its corporate mobility services across Nigeria.

Drive45 secures $3m debt facility from TLG Capital to expand corporate mobility in Nigeria

Related topics

Google and Kickstarter launch applications for the Next Wave Fund, offering African tech startups $10,000 and crowdfunding support.

African startups invited to apply for Kickstarter, Google Next Wave Fund

Related topics

Skymark Partners launches a ₦15 billion commercial paper issuance offering yields up to 24.5% to attract Nigerian investors.

Skymark partners launches its commercial paper issuance of up to ₦15 billion

Related topics

Egyptian AI startup Synapse Analytics raises $13 million Series A to scale its financial decisioning platform across Africa.

Egyptian AI startup Synapse Analytics raises $13m Series A funding round

Related topics

Old Mutual Group will inject R2 billion into OM Bank, its South African digital-first retail banking venture.

Old Mutual Group To Inject R2 Billion Into OM Bank As Digital-First Banking Venture Gains Traction