#BitcoinETFSees7272BTCOutflow

$122 Million US Dollar Move by Joseph Lubin Sparks Sell-Off Concerns for Ethereum

Ethereum co-founder, Joseph Lubin, transferred 80.001 ETH worth approximately $122 million from an inactive wallet for over three years. This rekindled fears of a founder sell-off as the token price approached $1,500.

The transaction drew attention because long-dormant founder wallets rarely move assets during a market downturn. Subsequently, on-chain trackers showed that the ether never reached an exchange, making the narrative of a sell pressure within minutes more complicated.

Why Lubin’s Transaction Makes Traders Nervous

At the time of publication, Ethereum was trading at $1,575, down about 5.9% in the last 24 hours, according to BeInCrypto data.

The token has fallen roughly 22% over the past week, making holders more sensitive to large movements.

Nansen analyst, Alex Svanevik, first flagged a withdrawal of 40,000 ETH, then corrected the data to 80,000 ETH across two transactions.

On-chain analysts then traced the address linked to Lubin, which still holds around 243,300 ETH worth nearly $370 million.

This timing worsened existing anxiety. Demand for spot Ethereum ETFs has sharply declined, and Ethereum purchases also dropped significantly during this price dip.

On-Chain Data Points to MakerDAO, Not an Exchange

The bearish narrative focuses on where the coins might be transferred next. Moving tokens to an exchange often indicates an intent to sell.

“If some of this gets into the spot order book while ETH is under pressure, it will add significant sell pressure,” commented one user.

However, on-chain trackers found a different scenario. The ether was moved to two wallets and used as collateral in MakerDAO, with about $209 million in Dai (DAI) borrowed against the ETH collateral.

This pattern indicates collateral management to reduce liquidation risk, not distribution for sale.

Lubin has long maintained a bullish stance on ETH. Therefore, direct sales at low prices in recent months are unlikely to be signals of exiting the market.

Whether the remaining 243,300 ETH will stay held or not will most likely influence short-term sentiment.

Currently, traders are watching for deposits into exchanges that could indicate distribution, rather than just DeFi collateralization.

Ethereum ETF Flows Add to Pressure

On June 4, the Ethereum spot ETF temporarily halted a 17-day outflow streak and recorded an inflow of $19.3 million, according to data from SoSoValue.

However, outflows resumed the next day, with about $6 million leaving on June 5.

This shift in direction shows how fragile demand has become after two weeks of outflows and the overall low-risk sentiment in the crypto asset market.