An individual referred to as an NFT whale, identified as Jeffrey Hwang, also known as Machi Big Brother, has reportedly conducted the most substantial NFT dump within a 48-hour period. The move is believed to be an attempt to gain an edge on an upcoming Blur airdrop, as speculated by some NFT market data analysts. The NFT whale sold 1,010 NFTs for 11,680 ETH, which is equivalent to $18.6 million.

The activity was brought to public attention by Andrew Thurman, Nansen’s NFT psychometric enhancement technician, in a Twitter thread on February 25. Thurman described it as “likely the largest NFT dump ever.” The selling spree included 90 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, 191 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs, 308 Otherdeed NFTs, and 112 Azuki. However, the seller did not make significant profits from the collections, which caused Thurman to question the move.

According to Thurman’s analysis, Machi Big Brother quickly repurchased 991 NFTs, leading to speculation that it was an attempt to book some profits while also engaging in “one big wash trade to generate huge Blur airdrop profits” or “pretty naked market manipulation.” The NFT whale was one of the significant beneficiaries of the recent Blur token airdrop, receiving 1.8 million BLUR, which was cashed out for $1.3 million, according to analytics platform Arkham Intel.

With Blur’s upcoming airdrop, Machi is likely to score big again as he inflates his trading activity. However, other whales may also be aware of the tricks required to manipulate the system. Thurman notes that the whale’s activities may have had an impact on the entire marketplace, with “one man’s quest for an airdrop” wrecking some markets. All the collections that Machi dumped were significantly affected by the sale in the past 24 hours, with BAYC, MAYC, and Otherdeed NFTs dropping by 7.77%, 9.2%, and 8.16%, respectively, within the period, according to NFT Price Floor data.