A whale address associated with the 2015 Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has made headlines by transferring 48,500 ETH, valued at approximately $154 million, to OKX over the past month. This movement comes from an address known for its early participation in Ethereum’s ICO, acquiring 1 million ETH at the initial price of $0.311 per token. The report was revealed by Colin Wu, a prominent crypto journalist, citing EmberCN data.
This address, identified as 0xe1…0Ab7, continues to hold 15,600 ETH, while the broader cluster of addresses linked to this whale is reported to control around 682,000 ETH, valued at roughly $1.756 billion. The transfer has sparked considerable interest within the crypto community, particularly given the dormancy of such large holdings.
This recent activity is not isolated. In May, CryptoTale reported on a similar instance where an early Ethereum investor, inactive for nearly nine years, transferred a substantial amount of cryptocurrency. According to Lookonchain, an onchain data tracking platform, this transaction involved 1,960 ETH, amounting to $5.8 million at the time. This investor, who participated in the Ethereum ICO, had purchased ETH at the original price of 31 cents per token. The reactivation of dormant wallets, particularly those holding significant amounts of Ethereum, often generates speculation regarding market impacts, though it is essential to note that such movements do not always lead to immediate market shifts.
Coinciding with these transfers, the Ethereum network has witnessed a notable decrease in gas fees. According to data from Dune Analytics, as reported in a separate Colin Wu post, the median gas fee on the Ethereum network hit a 5-year low on August 10, dropping below 2 gwei for the first time in half a decade.
At certain moments, real-time gas fees even dipped below 1 gwei. This reduction in transaction costs could be attributed to various factors, including decreased network activity or potential optimizations within the network.
Ethereum Whale Awakens: ICO-Era Wallet Reactivates with $14.7M Transfer
As these events unfold, Ethereum’s price has experienced a -3.92% decline in the last 24 hours, trading at $2,545.75 at press time. Despite this short-term decrease, the cryptocurrency has shown a 10.49% price increase over the past seven days. Ethereum’s 24-hour trading volume stands at $14.7 billion, reflecting continued robust trading activity. These fluctuations underscore the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency market, where large-scale transfers, network fee adjustments, and market sentiment interplay to influence price movements.
