You are here: Home / News / Ethereum Sees Dramatic Drop To $1,540 Amidst Controversy and SIM Swap Attack
Ethereum’s price plummeted to $1,540, a level not seen since March 12th, causing ripples throughout the cryptocurrency community. The price drop coincided with a significant stagnant Ethereum (ETH) movement from old wallets, raising investor concerns.
The blockchain data analytics firm Santiment raised a red flag by tweeting about the substantial outflow of ETH from long-held wallets. This trend has been accompanied by a continuous decline in the mean age of Ethereum, indicating a potential capitulation sign that often foreshadows market reversals.
The timing of this price dip couldn’t be more tumultuous, with Ethereum embroiled in multiple controversies. One of the most significant incidents involved Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, whose Twitter account fell victim to a SIM-swap attack.
Speaking on the decentralized social media network Farcaster, Buterin confirmed the attack, stating, “Yes, it was a SIM swap, meaning that someone socially engineered T-Mobile itself to take over my phone number.” This revelation sheds light on the audacity and sophistication of cybercriminals targeting high-profile cryptocurrency figures.
Adding to the intrigue, a wallet address linked to Vitalik Buterin (0xD0…8fd7) recently transferred 2,000 ETH, equivalent to approximately $3.12 million, to another address (0x55…31B1) just eight hours ago.
Currently, the wallet 0xD0…8fd7 still holds a substantial 37,000 ETH. Over the past year, wallets associated with Buterin have collectively deposited $7.49 million to Bitstamp and $3.3 million to Paxos via wallet address “0x55”.
Ethereum Price Analysis
Despite these setbacks and controversies, the cryptocurrency market is known for its volatility, and Ethereum has demonstrated resilience in the past. As of the latest data, ETH is trading at $1,588.00, accompanied by a 24-hour trading volume of $8,613,577,536, representing a 60% increase.
Source: CoinMarketcap
However, Ethereum has faced a 1.83% decline in the last 24 hours and a 2.73% drop in the seven-day chart. PricePredictions, a renowned cryptocurrency analysis platform, predicts a bearish trend for ETH in the long term. They anticipate a further decrease of $29.85 over the next seven days, with Ethereum’s price potentially reaching $1,552.58 by September 19th, 2023.
In the short term, machine learning algorithms suggest that ETH is currently experiencing a neutral trend. Investors are advised to prepare for a slight increase with the possibility of a subsequent decrease in the coming hours.
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