Ethereum Whale Awakens: ICO-Era Wallet Reactivates with $14.7M Transfer

A dormant Ethereum wallet holding 8,000 ETH since the Ethereum network’s ICO in 2015 was recently reactivated. Currently valued at $1,900 per Ether, the wallet content amounts to a total of around $14.7 million. This marked a massive gain of 590,000% for the owner, who initially invested merely $2,500, purchasing ETH at $0.31 per unit.

Blockchain analytics firm, Lookonchain, was the first to notice this startling transaction and shared the discovery with its substantial following of 219,000 on Twitter.

This Ethereum whale, as large stakeholders are colloquially called, initiated the activity by moving $1 to a new address. Soon after, the remaining 7,999 ETH were transferred to this new address, stirring curiosity and speculation among the crypto community.

Over the past few months, multiple ICO-era Ethereum wallets have been roused from their slumber. In April, an account holding 2,365 ETH ($4.5 million) transferred most of its content to a new address, marking its first activity in close to eight years. In March, another dormant wallet holding 10,226 ETH (around $19.6 million) reanimated and transferred its contents to a different address.

The new address to which the 8,000 ETH were transferred had an intriguing history as well. Aside from the substantial incoming transaction, it only recorded a prior incoming transaction of 207 ETH from a wallet that had been inactive since June 12, 2017.

This whale activity ignited a flurry of speculation among Twitter users, with some suggesting that the owner might have been recently released from prison. Meanwhile, Some suggested that the owner might be shifting assets from an old Ledger hard wallet, particularly in light of Ledger’s recent controversy over its postponed feature, Recover.

One Twitter user wrote:

Designed as a cryptographic backup for user seed phrases, the Recover launch has been delayed due to significant community backlash, with Ledger now awaiting the publication of a white paper and further progress on its open-source roadmap before proceeding.