Ethereum ICO Wallet Moves $120 Million After a Decade and Invests in Staking

A dormant Ethereum wallet has recently come back to life after a decade, moving its entire balance of Ether into staking rather than selling. This wallet, which holds 40,000 ETH, was initially acquired for around $12,000 during Ethereum's launch in July 2015 and is now valued at approximately $120 million. This move reflects strong confidence in the future of Ethereum, despite ongoing discussions about selling pressures among other large holders.

Key Takeaways

An Ethereum wallet from the ICO era, holding 40,000 ETH, moves to staking after ten years, valued at $120 million.
Instead of selling, this whale shows commitment to Ethereum's growth.
Two other significant ETH holders have recently sold portions of their assets.
Top Ethereum addresses continue to accumulate more Ether, highlighting ongoing investor interest.

Ethereum ICO wallet moves $120M after a decade, throws it into staking

Ethereum Whale Takes Action

Another Ethereum investor, often referred to as a whale, has recently made headlines after coming out of dormancy for ten years. Instead of selling their cryptocurrency, the wallet has chosen to stake its entire ETH balance, signaling a strong long-term belief in Ethereum's potential.

According to data from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, the wallet contains 40,000 Ether, which was acquired for about $12,000 during Ethereum's initial coin offering (ICO) in July 2015. Today, these tokens are worth an impressive $120 million.

Source: Lookonchain

Other Ethereum Holders in Action

Recently, activity from other influential Ethereum wallets has also been notable. One such wallet, which amassed 254,908 Ether during the ICO, began selling its holdings on November 26. The initial sale consisted of 20,000 Ether, with further reductions leading to just $9.3 million worth of Ether remaining by the end of the week.

In contrast, another long-term holder, who gathered 154,076 Ether starting in 2017, transferred 18,000 tokens to the crypto exchange Bitstamp after previously selling 87,824 Ether at an average price of $1,694.

A larger ICO wallet that reactivated in September with 1 million tokens also opted to stake 150,000 Ether in a new wallet, demonstrating varying strategies among Ethereum's top holders.

Accumulation Continues Among Top Holders

Despite some whales selling their holdings, the leading Ethereum addresses continue to accumulate more Ether. According to Glassnode, the supply held by the top 1% of ETH addresses rose to 97.6% last Wednesday, an increase from 96.1% a year prior.

The Eth2 Beacon Deposit Contract currently holds the largest amount of Ether, with 72.4 million ETH valued around $203 billion, representing about 60% of Ethereum’s total supply, as reported by Arkham.

The Eth2 Beacon Deposit Contract holds the most Ether. Source: Arkham

Furthermore, cryptocurrency exchange Binance maintains the second-largest Ether reserves, totaling 4 million. Asset manager BlackRock rounds out the top three with 3.9 million Ether in its portfolio.