The Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO), held in 2014, represents one of the most significant events in cryptocurrency history. As the network had not started producing tokens autonomously, the ICO event allowed early investors and enthusiasts to raise ETH, currently the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
The latest on-chain data shows that one of the ICO participants has become active for the first time in more than eight years, transferring the stock of Ether tokens that had been mined to different addresses on Saturday, October 21.
💤 An idle pre-mine address containing 2,000 #ETH (USD 3,198,920) just activated after 8.2 years!
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) October 21, 2023
Ethereum ICO participant wakes up from slumber
According to the blockchain data tracker Lookonchain, the address, which was part of Ethereum Genesis, initially received 2,000 ETH eight years ago. At the time, Ether tokens were bought for $620 at an ICO price of $0.31 per token. On Saturday, the ETH tokens in question switched wallets for the first time.
One #Ethereum #ICO participant woke up after 8.2 years of dormancy and carried all 2,000 $ETH($3.2 million currently) in 4 addresses 10 minutes ago.
He received 2,000 $ETH(cost is ~$620) on Ethereum Genesis and ETH ICO price is ~$0.31. pic.twitter.com/juvlKCnIsW
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 21, 2023
The wallet holding the pre-mined ETH stash has been dormant for exactly 8.2 years (July 2015). Thanks to the exponential growth of Ethereum and the entire crypto market, the value of these holdings has increased to almost $3.2 million at the current price.
In the X (formerly Twitter) post, Lookonchain highlighted that the ICO participant transferred the Ethereum tokens to four different addresses. About 500 Ether tokens were sent to each address, with minutes separating the transactions.
It remains to be seen if the wallet holder is preparing to sell the chips, bet the network, or make other transactions. In the event of a sell-off, however, the price of ETH may face momentary downward pressure.
Large transfers from early ICO participants aren’t exactly common occurrences, but there have already been a few similar transactions in 2023. Specifically, one ICO participant transferred $116 million worth of pre-mined ETH to a Kraken exchange address in July.
ETH Price Overview
As of this writing, the Ethereum price is at $1,605, reflecting a 0.7% drop over the past day. This comes on the back of a week where the value of ETH showed signs of recovery, posting a 3.8% price increase over the past seven days.
Last week was mainly dominated by the bullish performance of Bitcoin and the fake news of spot ETF approval. This positive run of BTC, however, eventually rubbed off on the broader cryptocurrency market, including the price of Ethereum.
Ethereum price hovers around the $1,600 mark on the daily timeframe | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from TradingView
