New crypto whale buys $1.3B of Ether ahead of US inflation reports

A new cryptocurrency whale has purchased $1.34 billion worth of Ether in the past eight days, outpacing record US spot Ether ETF inflows and fueling speculation over the token’s price trajectory ahead of key US inflation data.

The whale acquired 312,052 Ether (ETH) across 10 newly created cryptocurrency wallets, according to crypto intelligence platform Lookonchain.

The whale has acquired $300 million more than the record-breaking inflows to US spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which amassed $1 billion worth of Ether on Monday, their largest daily net inflows since launch.

Analysts say the billion-dollar accumulation could help push Ether closer to its previous all-time high of $4,890, still more than 12% above current levels. The surge in demand comes as investors await this week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) reports, which could shape expectations for the US Federal Reserve’s Sept. 17 interest rate decision.

Source: Lookonchain

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89% of investors expect a September interest rate cut

The CPI and PPI reports are “key” for shaping monetary policy expectations, as higher-than-expected inflation data may “weaken” investor appetite and “stall” the current crypto rally, according to Javier Rodriguez-Alarcón, chief investment officer at crypto trading and asset management platform XBTO. “The rally fits within ETH’s typical behaviour and could pause or consolidate without fresh catalysts.

“It’s near-neutral Z-score (–0.06) shows that, despite the size of the move, it remains well within ETH’s normal volatility range,” he said, adding that the continued corporate treasury buying may enable Ether to test its prior all-time high.

Related: Bitcoin’s corporate boom raises ‘Fort Knox’ nationalization concerns

Fed target interest rate probabilities. Source: CME Group’s FedWatch tool

Markets are pricing in an 82% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates steady during the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Sept. 17, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Still, Ether is seeing aggressive profit-taking from short-term Ether holders, signaling that this cohort may expect a pullback.

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