Ethereum (ETH) Price Holds Firm Above $2,500 Despite Broader Market Hesitation

Ethereum (ETH) maintained composure on Friday, dipping only 1.4% to trade near $2,587, outpacing rival layer-1 assets

British trading firm Abraxas Capital Management appears to have booked a tidy profit from its recent and sizable purchase of Ether (CRYPTO: ETH).

According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, a cryptocurrency wallet, which the firm is suspected to own, quietly accumulated 278,639 ETH, valued at around $655 million at the time of purchase, back on May 16.

The London asset manager appears to have purchased the Ether at an average cost of $2,350, shortly before the cryptocurrency’s Pectra upgrade went live.

With Friday’s session closing at around $2,587, the wallet is now sitting on unrealized losses of about $77 million.

The firm’s strategic move to accumulate a cryptocurrency in the wake of a major network upgrade underscores professional confidence in the asset’s long-term viability, especially given the persistent regulatory and macroeconomic headwinds.

The timing of the purchase, coinciding with the Pectra upgrade deployment, also highlights how technical innovation within a cryptocurrency network continues to influence trading decisions among sophisticated large investors.

What Happened: As the cryptocurrency markets continue to grapple with a largely flat performance, Ethereum dipped only 1.4% on Friday to trade at $2,587 by 08:30 (Eastern Time).

The second-largest cryptocurrency outpaced peers like Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), both of which slipped into negative territory.

The British investment firm, Abraxas Capital Management, is suspected to be behind the massive ETH purchase, which occurred at the beginning of May.

According to Lookonchain’s analysis, the same cryptocurrency wallet that was used to accumulate the 278,639 ETH also executed a 100,000 BTC purchase back in March 2023.

The new data from the firm comes as the cryptocurrency markets have seen $691 million in inflows over the past week, according to a report by digital asset management firm Coinshares.

The inflows come as crypto traders continue to express concern over the lack of institutional interest in the cryptocurrency markets, especially in light of the recent price action.

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