A Controversial Wallet Returns

A controversial wallet linked to a massive hack in the crypto market is now active again. On-chain data indicates that the hacker responsible for stealing over $300 million from Coinbase users has gone long on Ethereum (ETH).

The wallet reportedly tied to the hacker acquired 649.62 ETH (approximately worth $2.31 million) at an average price of $3,561. This comes after a month-long laundering campaign and suggests that the attacker is taking a directional bet on Ethereum’s growth. Ether’s price has surged by 26% over the last week.

Ethereum Reaches $3,700 as Whales Enter

Data from Lookonchain reveals that the same hacker wallet added 4,863 ETH (worth about $12.55 million) on July 7 at an average price of $2,581. However, two months prior, the exploiter sold 26,762 ETH (valued at around $69.25 million) when it traded at about $2,588.

Notably, this isn’t the only significant investment in ETH. Two newly formed institutional-grade wallets acquired a total of 58,268 ETH, estimated at $212 million, through FalconX and Galaxy Digital.

> The hacker who stole over $300M from #Coinbase users bought another 649.62 $ETH ($2.31M) at $3,561 9 hours ago. Link to tweet
>
> — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 20, 2025

Meanwhile, a known whale wallet (0xd5ff) recently closed a long ETH position, locking in a $1.7 million profit. In the last four days, that address executed six profitable ETH long trades, accumulating nearly $3 million in total profits.

Ethereum is currently experiencing a bullish trend, boasting gains of over 125% in the last 90 days, trading at an average price of $3,705 at press time with a 24-hour trading volume around $30 billion.

Source: SoSoBValue

Institutional interest in Ethereum continues to grow. Ether-linked US ETFs saw $402.5 million in inflows on Friday, surpassing Bitcoin’s $363.45 million. BlackRock’s ETHA fund alone contributed $394.91 million to this total. While Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s ETHE faced minor outflows, Ether ETF trading volumes reached $2.8 billion, boosting total assets under management for Ether products to a record $18.37 billion.

The Backstory of Coinbase’s $300M ETH Heist

The Coinbase hack remains one of the most controversial incidents of 2025. On-chain investigator ZachXBT reported that the attacker initially traded $42.5 million worth of stolen Bitcoin for Ethereum via Thorchain. They subsequently converted nearly 18,000 ETH into over $45 million in DAI stablecoins, complicating the trail.

The breach reportedly stemmed from a social engineering attack where hackers bribed external contractors and support employees located outside the US to gain access to sensitive user information, affecting 97,000 Coinbase accounts.

Although login credentials were not exposed, names, addresses, and emails were compromised. Coinbase vowed to reimburse affected users and is assessing damages, but the company reportedly declined to meet the attacker’s $20 million ransom demand.