Wintermute has no more Ethereum for OTC sales

Wintermute has virtually no available ETH in its OTC desk, after silent whale accumulation. The fund’s founder Evgeny Gaevoy sounded the alarm on a wave of ETH scarcity.

Evgeny Gaevoy, the founder of Wintermute, announced the market maker had ran out of ETH for its OTC desk.

there is (clearly) almost no #ETH available for sale on Wintermute OTC desk

— wishful_cynic (@EvgenyGaevoy) July 16, 2025

Wintermute follows the general trend of depleted OTC desks, after weeks of silent whale accumulation. Gaevoy’s announcement arrived just as ETH conquered another price level, expanding to $3,446.15.

The depleted OTC desk reflects the recent shift toward large-scale institutional interest. Wintermute also noted that during this crypto bull run, institutions and retail are diverging. Wintermute noted institutions shifted toward BTC and ETH, while retail sought breakout assets among meme tokens.

Wintermute depleted its ETH reserves after increased whale purchases, with almost no ETH available on its OTC desk. | Source: Arkham Intelligence.

Based on the fund’s public wallets, Wintermute holds around 8,155 ETH, down from 27K as of July 10. The available reserves are often replete with short-term purchases, but the fund has been keeping a relatively low balance. Wintermute has often depleted its holdings after a single whale purchase.

This time around, Wintermute’s low reserves coincide with FOMO buying, as ETH broke out to levels not seen since the late 2024 bull market. ETH is now closing in on the $4,000 target, last traded on December 8, 2024. The price recovery arrives after a period of whale capitulation for some buyers. Others, including ETF and anonymous whales, went through a period of silent accumulation.

ETH is becoming a scarce commodity

ETH remains slightly inflationary, and has added around 900K coins since the launch of ETH 2.0. On a weekly basis, the network adds a net 15,957 ETH, based on the difference between block reward production and fee burns.

The annual inflation settled at around 0.7%, gradually expanding the supply above 120,908,202 ETH.

Of that supply, close to 30% is staked, with a long-term holding outlook. Whales now rarely sell ETH on the open market, instead preferring lending protocols or liquid staking.

Even with a net inflation, ETH is becoming scarce even through ETF buying. BlackRock acquired 159,100 ETH, nearly absorbing more than two months’ worth of newly created tokens. This does not account for other whales, funds, corporate buyers, and general staking.

BlackRock now holds over 2M ETH, expanding the reserves to an all-time high with almost constant buying over the past month. The acquisition trend accelerated in July as ETH broke above key levels.

Galaxy Digital also sees ETH outflows

Galaxy Digital, another provider of OTC ETH services, also saw active outflows from its wallets. Some of the known Galaxy Digital addresses hold around 55,000 ETH, down from over 70K ETH in the past weeks.

The fund’s reserves were further depleted as a single whale placed $14M on ETH spot buying. OTC deals do not immediately show up as price action, but show whale movements and potential silent accumulation.

Some of the recent demand for corporate treasuries may also be filled through OTC deals. ETH still has multiple older whales, including ICO treasuries from previous cycles.

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