1inch Investment Fund Sells stETH
The 1inch Investment Fund, which is closely associated with the crypto exchange aggregator platform 1inch, recently sold 4,685 stETH for $8.54 million USDC at a price of $1,823. This transaction resulted in a profit of $1.28 million for the fund, as the stETH tokens were originally purchased for an average price of $1,550 just a week ago.
Understanding stETH and Lido Finance
StETH is an ERC-20 token that represents staked Ethereum (ETH) on the Lido Finance protocol. Lido Finance allows users to stake their ETH and earn rewards without locking up their coins for a long period of time.
Lido Finance is currently the most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) application in terms of total value locked (TVL). According to DeFiLlama data, the protocol manages over $15.7 billion worth of assets, with over 95% of them being ETH.
When users stake their ETH on Lido Finance, they receive stETH tokens in return, which represent their stake. The more ETH someone stakes, the more stETH tokens they receive. These stETH tokens can be traded, transferred, or used as collateral for loans while still earning network rewards.
The Implications of Selling stETH
By selling stETH, the 1inch Investment Fund automatically unstaked the corresponding amount of ETH on Lido Finance and sold it. However, it’s important to note that transferring the underlying ETH can take several days, during which spot prices may change.
It’s interesting that the fund decided to sell stETH at a time when the crypto market is showing signs of recovery and Ethereum is approaching the $2,000 level. Since the fund is private and doesn’t disclose its strategy, it’s unclear why it chose to sell stETH when market confidence is high.
Will Ethereum Prices Break $2,000?
Ethereum prices have seen a 17% increase from their lows in the second half of 2023 and are currently rallying. The recent surge on October 23 and 24 has led to new October highs for the coin. However, despite this positive trend, it’s concerning that bulls have been unable to completely reverse the losses from August 17.
Ideally, if Ethereum can surpass the $1,800 and $2,000 levels, it could pave the way for further gains towards $2,100 in the near future. It’s worth noting that when the 1inch Investment Fund sold stETH at a price of $1,823, it coincided with today’s peak. The ETHUSDT daily chart shows an inverted hammer pattern, indicating that prices may be declining due to increased selling pressure.
Hot Take: Uncertain Motivations Behind Selling stETH
The decision of the 1inch Investment Fund to sell stETH raises questions about their motivations. Despite the positive market sentiment and Ethereum’s upward momentum, the fund chose to offload their staked ETH tokens. As a private entity, they have not disclosed their strategy or reasoning behind this move. However, it remains to be seen whether this decision will impact their future profitability and if Ethereum prices will continue to rise beyond $2,000.