A participant from Ethereum’s ICO who invested $3,100 in 2015 and amassed 10,000 ETH—valued today at approximately $23 million—has for the first time in nearly a decade transferred their entire holdings. The transaction occurred on Tuesday after the wallet had remained inactive since receiving the ETH during the initial crowdsale on July 30, 2015, when the token was priced around $0.31.
This whale’s movement comes after witnessing every major market cycle without making any transactions until now. In a similar event last September, another Ethereum investor who acquired 1 million ETH in the same ICO moved funds worth $645 million to a staking service while retaining $1.1 billion in ETH.
Decrypt consulted analysts on this development, with Illia Otychenko from CEX.IO suggesting that such investors might not be motivated by current market prices alone. “For someone who bought at $0.31 per ETH, any price point is a life-changing return,” Otychenko remarked, indicating non-financial reasons could drive the transaction, such as recovering old private keys or consolidating holdings.
Dean Chen from Bitunix added that the timing of this move suggests it’s more about portfolio adjustments than immediate selling. “They’ve been through every cycle since 2015 without reacting, signaling a long-term investment strategy,” he explained. Chen pointed out that the transfer is unlikely to impact Ethereum prices significantly given the market’s current trading volume.
Both analysts noted that while such transactions might be perceived as sell signals by the market and create short-term pressure, they don’t necessarily indicate broader selling intentions. The movement reflects a wider trend among early ICO investors transitioning towards more professional asset management practices, with some choosing staking over exchanges.
Otychenko highlighted that this year’s activations of ICO-era holdings vary: some are shifting into staking or making small, phased sales rather than complete exits. This behavior suggests personal financial needs or organizational changes in holding structures rather than an expectation of market downturns. On Myriad, a prediction platform by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, users estimate a 47% probability that Ethereum will drop to $1,500 before reaching $3,000.
As of now, Ethereum is trading at $2,330, marking a 2.4% increase over the past 24 hours according to CoinGecko data.