Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics firm, has published a report that reveals the identity of 500 wallet addresses that belong to Grayscale Ethereum Trust, the world’s second largest ETH entity with $5 billion in holdings. According to Arkham, these wallets hold more than 1.3 million ETH, or about 1.1% of the total supply.
The report claims that Arkham was able to link these wallets to Grayscale by using various methods, such as analyzing transaction patterns, tracing funds from known Grayscale addresses, and cross-referencing data from other sources. Arkham says that its findings are based on “high confidence” and that it has verified its results with multiple independent parties.
Arkham argues that its report is important for the Ethereum community, as it provides more transparency and insight into the activities and intentions of one of the largest institutional investors in the space. Arkham also suggests that its report could have implications for the price and liquidity of ETH, as well as for the upcoming transition to Ethereum 2.0, which will introduce a new staking mechanism.
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Grayscale Ethereum Trust is a product of Grayscale Investments, a digital asset management company that offers exposure to various cryptocurrencies through its trusts and funds. Grayscale Ethereum Trust allows accredited investors to buy shares that represent ETH holdings, without having to deal with the technical aspects of owning and storing the cryptocurrency. Grayscale periodically buys more ETH from the market to match the demand for its shares, which trade at a premium over the spot price.
Grayscale has not commented on Arkham’s report as of yet, nor has it confirmed or denied the accuracy of its findings. Grayscale’s website states that it does not disclose the wallet addresses of its trusts for security and operational reasons. However, some of its addresses have been publicly revealed in the past, such as when it moved large amounts of ETH to Coinbase Custody in June 2020.
In an interesting development, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE Group) is exploring the use of blockchain technology to create a new trading platform that would offer a more transparent and efficient way of executing transactions. The project, dubbed TradeView, aims to leverage the distributed ledger capabilities of blockchain to provide a real-time view of trades, settlements and clearing across multiple asset classes and markets.
TradeView would enable participants to access a shared ledger of transactions, reducing the need for intermediaries and reconciliations, and improving the speed and accuracy of trade execution. The platform would also allow for the creation of smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements that can automate the execution of complex business logic and enforce compliance rules.
The LSE Group is working with several partners, including IBM, Digital Asset and R3, to develop and test the TradeView platform. The project is part of the LSE Group’s broader strategy to embrace innovation and digital transformation, as well as to enhance its competitive position in the global financial markets.
The LSE Group believes that blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the trading industry, by creating new opportunities for value creation, cost reduction and risk management. TradeView is one of the first initiatives of its kind in the world and could set a new standard for how trading is conducted in the future.
