The hacker who stole over $300 million from Coinbase users is back in the news. This time, they are buying Ethereum (ETH) as its price climbs. It seems even cybercriminals see the value in ETH’s current rally. This trend highlights a broader interest in the cryptocurrency, not just among typical investors.
Everyone seems to have their eyes on Ethereum (ETH) lately. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is making its way back toward the $5,000 mark. And yes, that “everyone” includes the infamous Coinbase hacker.
Blockchain analyst Lookonchain recently pointed out a big move. On Saturday, a digital wallet linked to the notorious Coinbase attacker spent $18.9 million on ETH. This is the same hacker who stole over $300 million from users earlier this year through a social engineering scam.
This hacker traded large amounts of DAI stablecoin for Ether. Data from Arkham Intelligence, also shared by Lookonchain on X, showed the wallet gathered DAI sums between $80,000 and $6 million. After that, it made several purchases, ending up with 3,976 ETH. The price for each token was $4,756.
The hacker who stole $300M+ from users bought another 3,976 ($18.9M) at $$4,756 an hour ago.https://t.co/xgGLej7nrd pic.twitter.com/WrxobUkK7k
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain)
Blockchain analysts have been watching this particular wallet since the beginning of the year. It’s tied to a social engineering scam that tricked victims out of at least $330 million. That figure comes from researcher ZachXBT.
This big buy happened as ETH prices moved past $4,700 again. It points to a new wave of interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency. Ethereum has caught the eye of many, including big company investors, seasoned traders, and long-term holders.
Renewed Appetite for Ethereum
Companies adding cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets are a big part of this trend. Data from strategicethreserve.xyz highlights this clearly. Firms holding Ethereum in their treasuries have seen their stash grow from 2.7 million ETH on August 3rd to over 4.9 million ETH now. This means they’ve more than doubled their holdings in under six weeks, a rapid buying spree.
Public companies like Bitmine and Sharplink Gaming are on this list. They’ve ramped up their ETH purchases. Together, these two companies hold almost 3 million ETH. Their stock prices have climbed as much as 600% since they started investing in the cryptocurrency this year. This shows their growing commitment to Ethereum.
Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) also saw a big jump. Their reserves grew by about 1 million ETH during the same time. These funds attracted much more money than Bitcoin ETFs did in August. This suggests investors are moving their attention and money towards Ethereum.
Even some major Bitcoin investors are swapping their holdings for ETH. One very large, unknown investor, who once held $5 billion in Bitcoin, has reportedly been shifting funds into Ethereum.
Individual traders are also making headlines. On the Hyperliquid market, one trader started a massive bet on ETH in May. They turned a $125,000 deposit into a $303 million long position in Ether by using borrowed funds. This strategy briefly pushed their capital to $43 million. They later exited, locking in $6.86 million in profits, as Cointelegraph reported.
The Coinbase Hacker Isn’t Alone
This recent ETH purchase by the Coinbase hacker’s wallet isn’t a one-off event. Just last month, the same wallet bought $8 million worth of Solana (SOL). Even earlier, in July, Lookonchain spotted two other Ethereum buys. One was for 4,863 ETH, worth around $12.55 million. The second was 649 ETH for $2.3 million. The cost per token then was $3,562.1.
It turns out the Coinbase hacker isn’t the only one using ill-gotten gains to profit from Ethereum’s rise.
Last month, we reported on three other cyberattack groups. These included the teams behind the Infini and Radiant Capital thefts. They had already seen ETH gains exceeding $80 million. These profits came from either selling their holdings or simply from the rising value of their crypto as Ethereum hit new record highs.
As of this writing, ETH trades at $4,703. This marks a 3.6% increase in the past 24 hours. The price is still 6% below its all-time high of $4,946, reached just last month, according to CoinGecko data.
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