Ethereum Whale Sells $88M as Profit-Taking Heats Up — But Bulls Still Call $25K by 2028

Whales Cash In: $88M ETH Sale Sparks Short-Term Pressure

Ethereum’s blistering 52% monthly rally is hitting a familiar wall: profit-taking at scale.

In a 15-hour window, a notorious whale collective known as the “7 Siblings” sold 19,461 ETH at an average price of $4,532, cashing out $88.2 million. The move, revealed by on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, highlights a growing trend: early buyers are locking in gains as ETH flirts with all-time highs.

The group, which holds a staggering 1.21 million ETH ($5.6B), built its position aggressively between February and April—buying 103,543 ETH at an average of just $2,219. Their latest sale locks in a 105% return in under six months, a textbook example of strategic on-chain timing.

Their behavior is complex: using multiple wallets, funneling ETH into Aave v3, and obscuring transaction trails—suggesting a sophisticated, long-game financial operator.

The Broader Sell-Off: Whales, Shorts, and Even the Foundation

The 7 Siblings aren’t alone.

• Short-term holders are realizing $553 million in daily profits, according to Glassnode—though still 39% below peak levels from the last cycle.
• The Ethereum Foundation sold 2,795 ETH ($12.7M), reducing its ETH balance to just 99.9 tokens, signaling a shift toward stablecoin-based treasury management.
• Even Arthur Hayes, former BitMEX CEO, admitted to buying back ETH just a week after selling $10.5M at $3,507—showcasing the volatility of sentiment at the top.

Yet, despite the selling pressure, the fundamentals keep strengthening.

Bull Case on Fire: ETFs, TVL, and Institutional Frenzy

While whales take profits, institutions are piling in.

• Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $1.01 billion in single-day inflows—a new record
• Total Value Locked (TVL) across DeFi surpassed $90 billion, a psychological milestone
• BitMine Immersion Technologies plans to raise $20 billion for ETH purchases
• Standard Chartered has doubled down, raising its 2025 ETH target to $7,500—up from $4,000

The bank’s bullish call is based on powerful macro drivers:

• Institutional adoption: Treasury firms and ETFs have acquired 3.8% of all ETH in circulation since June—twice the pace of Bitcoin’s ETF-driven accumulation in 2024.
• Regulatory clarity: The GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, provides a clear framework for stablecoins—many of which are issued on Ethereum.
• Stablecoin dominance: ETH captures 40% of all blockchain fee revenue from stablecoin transactions, with over half of all stablecoins (USDC, DAI, USDT) minted on its network.

Standard Chartered projects the stablecoin market could grow to $2 trillion by 2028, fueling massive demand for ETH as the backbone of DeFi, where it holds 65% of TVL.

The Road to $25,000: Vitalik’s Vision and the ETH-BTC Ratio

Looking ahead, the bank’s long-term forecast is nothing short of explosive:

• $12,000 by 2026
• $18,000 by 2027
• $25,000 by 2028

This assumes:

• Bitcoin reaches $150,000, pushing ETH to $8,500+ based on historical market cap ratios (21.7%–35% of BTC’s cap)
• Ethereum’s layer-1 throughput increases 10x, as proposed by Vitalik Buterin, allowing high-value transactions to settle on-chain while offloading smaller ones to L2s like Arbitrum and Base
• The ETH/BTC ratio rises from 0.036 to 0.05, signaling growing investor preference for ETH’s utility

At current prices near $4,690, Ethereum is just 5% below its all-time high—and with Q3 2025 expected to bring new peaks, the path to $7,500 looks increasingly plausible.

The Bottom Line: Profit-Taking is Healthy—The Trend is Still Up

Yes, whales are selling. Yes, the Ethereum Foundation is lightening its load. But these are signs of a maturing market, not a dying one.

The capital moving out is being replaced by deeper, more sustainable demand—from ETFs, institutions, stablecoin issuers, and global investors who see ETH not just as a store of value, but as the operating system of decentralized finance.

Short-term volatility? Guaranteed.
Long-term trajectory? Still pointing straight up.