Wintermute, a cryptocurrency trading firm, is running out of ether (ETH), Ethereum's native currency, in its OTC (over-the-counter) trading. OTC markets for digital assets allow institutional investors or businesses to trade large volumes discreetly, bypassing a public exchange to avoid impacting their prices.

The news was broken by Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, who said: “There is (clearly) almost no ETH left available for sale on Wintermute’s OTC desk.”

According to data from the Arkham explorer, the exchange currently holds 3,100 Ethereum units. This is a significant reduction considering that on July 10, it held 27,000 ETH. The lowest point was on July 2, when its balance fell to just 807 ETH.

Wintermute's ETH holdings. Source: Arkham.

If this trend continues and expands to other OTC platforms, large buyers will likely have to turn to public exchanges to acquire ETH, which could push the price higher.

This shortage of supply in the OTC market reinforces the narrative that there is an institutional rush for Ethereum currency in the market. Evidence of this is that there are currently more than 1.3 million ETH in the hands of companies, foundations, DAO protocols, and government entities.

In this context, it is worth highlighting that more and more companies are considering adding ETH to their corporate treasuries to generate additional income through staking. This strategy has been successful for some companies, such as SharpLink (SBET), a Nasdaq-listed sports betting company. Through staking, it has already obtained 322 ETH, equivalent to $1.1 million at current prices.