Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) veteran and ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees bought Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) on Sunday after a year-long trading pause, snapping up tens of millions worth of the second-largest cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Pioneer’s Ethereum Play

On-chain tracking firm Lookonchain reported that Voorhees used over $49 million in Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) to acquire 23,393 ETH at an average price of $2,098 through two wallets. The latest purchases increased his overall ETH holdings across the two wallets to $41.17 million.

Voorhees still holds over $26 million in USDT at the time of writing.

The optimists interpreted Voorhees’ return as a “massive signal” for the market, adding, “When a pioneer like Voorhees ends a year-long hiatus with a 50 million dollar buy, it changes the entire narrative for the quarter.”

Whale accumulation, i.e, buying and holding, is frequently interpreted as a bullish signal by the retail crowd. However, it’s never quite that simple, and other factors also come into play.

Bullish Momentum Building?

The acquisitions coincided with Ethereum’s rally late Sunday evening, fueled by strong buying pressure. The second-largest cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of $2,200, with weekly gains exceeding 11%.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator, which compares two exponential moving averages of an asset’s price,  typically the 12-period and the 26-period, flashed a “Buy” signal for ETH, according to TradingView. The Bull Bear Power indicator, which measures the strength of buyers and sellers, flashed a "Sell" signal.

Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH was exchanging hands at $2,172.87, up 3.87% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.