Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke moves $262 million in ETH to Kraken, sparking speculation among the community.

Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke transferred around $262 million worth of ETH to a wallet identified as a Kraken deposit on May 20, based on on-chain insights.

The transaction involved 105,736 ETH, nearly depleting Wilcke’s assets and leaving him with just 268.73 ETH in his wallet. Following this transfer, it appears that Wilcke may be distributing his assets across different wallets, as indicated by subsequent withdrawals from the exchange.

Lookonchain noted that mere minutes post-deposit, eight distinct addresses withdrew the equivalent of $262 million in ETH from Kraken. This marks Wilcke’s first considerable transfer to an exchange since a series of four transactions last year that accounted for $147 million.

Despite the significant movement of funds, Ethereum’s price remained fairly stable. At the time of reporting, ETH was valued at $2,493, reflecting a minor decline of 0.17% over the last 24 hours, correlating with overall market trends.

Ethereum has demonstrated robust performance over the past month, surging 72% from earlier lows this year to reach a peak of $2,737.17 on May 13.

Transfers involving significant figures from the Ethereum ecosystem and the Ethereum Foundation (EF) often attract attention within the community.

On August 23, 2024, the EF transferred ETH worth $94 million to Kraken. This transaction sparked discussions among community members, prompting clarifications from EF contributor Josh Spark and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who stated that the transfer aimed to support organizations contributing to Ethereum’s development.

In early 2025, the Ethereum Foundation continued its transactions, including the sale of 300 ETH worth approximately $981,200 in January alone.

This led to a debate in the community about whether the foundation should stake its assets instead of liquidating them. In response, Buterin explained that legal considerations and potential contentious protocol upgrades influenced the EF’s choice against wide-scale staking.

In February, the foundation started allocating a portion of its funds to decentralized finance platforms to generate returns.

The EF allocated 30,800 ETH, valued at around $82 million, into Aave’s lending markets, while a further 10,000 ETH was received by Spark, and Compound saw an injection of 4,200 ETH. Analyst Tom Wan estimated a potential annual yield of 1.5% from these actions, translating to roughly $1.5 million based on current valuations.