Why did the "hibernating" Uniswap whale suddenly dump 512,000 UNI, accepting a loss of up to 76%?

After Uniswap announced the “Unification” proposal 10 days ago, UNI quickly broke out, climbing to $10.2 as investor capital poured in. However, the excitement didn’t last long. Just days later, both “whales” and retail investors simultaneously took profits, causing UNI to enter a sharp correction phase.

In fact, UNI has been continuously declining throughout this period, at one point bottoming out at $6.4. At the time of writing, the token is trading around $6.5, recording a 9.14% drop on the daily chart.

Alongside the weakening price trend, spending activity from investors—especially whales—also surged, indicating increasingly apparent selling pressure in the market.

Uniswap whales are surrendering!

Whale activity around Uniswap increased significantly after the “UNIification” proposal, bringing a large influx of capital into the market. Spot Average data from CryptoQuant shows multiple large buy orders consistently appearing on the spot market—a sign of strong participation from major investors, both buying and selling.

NguSource: CryptoQuant

When cross-referencing the data, Coin Photon recorded that whale wallets accumulated tokens primarily on November 10 and 11. However, right after the price peaked, their sentiment completely reversed, ushering in a new wave of sell-offs.

For example, on November 11, one whale dumped 1.71 million UNI worth about $15 million—tokens that had been steadily accumulated from February to October. According to Lookonchain, this sale resulted in a loss of up to $1.4 million for the major investor despite months of holding.

This loss-taking move reflects fears of deeper losses following the “UNIification” price pump—and simultaneously serves as a clear bearish signal for the market.

A dormant whale takes an $11.65 million loss

In a surprising development, a “dormant whale” suddenly awoke after 4.5 years and decided to liquidate all their UNI holdings.

According to Lookonchain data, this investor owned 512,000 UNI since 2021—when Uniswap peaked around $29.8. At that time, these tokens were worth up to $15.29 million, showing the investor’s “diamond hands” resolve.

However, after 4.5 years and with UNI slipping below $7, this asset now amounts to just $3.64 million, corresponding to a 76% loss—roughly $11.65 million evaporated.

Such deep-loss sell-offs are often seen as a capitulation signal, a typical behavior during prolonged and exhausting bear markets.

Will UNI continue to fall?

UNI continues to face strong selling pressure, mainly from investors following the bear market trend—especially whales.

In the past three days, sellers have completely dominated, dumping over 5.6 million UNI onto the market, causing net inflows to exchanges to remain positive. This is a clear sign that retail selling pressure is rising sharply in the spot market.

NguSource: CryptoQuant

UNI’s downtrend is also becoming more pronounced. The Positive Directional Movement Index (DMI) just recorded a bearish crossover, further confirming the downward trend of this altcoin.

With whales continuing to sell and bearish sentiment prevailing, UNI risks facing further deep corrections. If the current trend persists, the price could retreat to $5.8, erasing all gains made in November.

NguSource: TradingView

To neutralize the bearish pressure, the bulls must reclaim the mid-band of the Fibonacci Bollinger Band at $7.6. Only then will UNI have a chance to retest the next resistance at $8.4.

SN_Nour