A fresh cryptocurrency wallet has withdrawn 10,000 Ethereum (ETH), valued at roughly $18.6 million, directly from the Binance exchange. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported the massive transaction, noting that the whale account immediately staked the full amount into Ether.fi.
According to Arkham data, the full amount went into Ether.fi. By depositing the funds into the liquid staking protocol, the owner received wrapper tokens known as weETH. Moving assets off an exchange to earn staking rewards often reflects a clear long-term strategy rather than a plan for quick selling.
Whales are accumulating $ETH.
A newly created wallet, 0xf23c, withdrew 10,000 $ETH($18.6M) from #Binance and staked it all.https://t.co/o4IfV8OHD8 pic.twitter.com/wBzsSKoOMi
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 20, 2026
What’s driving whale accumulation on Ethereum
Large investors are increasingly choosing liquid staking over traditional holding. Protocols like Ether.fi allow users to earn base staking yields while retaining liquid tokens for additional DeFi strategies without selling off their underlying positions.
This $18.6 million staking transaction aligns with broader bullish sentiment across the market. On July 19, Lookonchain identified two other brand-new wallets that sold 72 Bitcoin ($4.66 million) to open 20x long positions on 12,000 ETH, worth $22.4 million. Together, these separate moves suggest growing confidence among large capital allocators, even though nothing ties the wallets to one another.
What the moves could mean for Ethereum’s price
Continued withdrawals from Binance could signal that big holders expect higher prices in the coming months. If more investors lock up supply in liquid staking, Ethereum could see less selling pressure overall.
The withdrawal lands during a broader accumulation trend. Binance has recorded some of its heaviest ETH withdrawal activity in years this month, while Tom Lee’s BitMine continued adding to its holdings, and spot Ethereum ETFs saw inflows return after a multi-day outflow streak. Whether that combination holds up as ETH tests resistance near $2,000 will matter more for price than any single wallet’s move.
Meanwhile, DeFi Planet reported that an Ethereum wallet lost nearly $1 million in USDT after its owner signed a malicious token approval, according to Scam Sniffer. An automated sweeper script initially tried draining a rounded $1 million but failed on insufficient funds, then succeeded 36 seconds later via three transfers. This incident highlights the increasing automation behind approval phishing scams. According to CertiK, the broader industry suffered $366 million in total phishing losses throughout the first half of 2026.
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