An ICO-era Ethereum whale recently moved 1 ETH after a decade-long hiatus, and is sitting on a whopping profit of $2.44 million.
An Ethereum whale has recently woken up after a decade of hiatus by moving 1 ETH after its initial coin offering (ICO), in what appears to be a test transaction.
The Whale wallet, which originally held 1,000 ETH purchased for just $310 during the Genesis event, moved 1 ETH today, and is already sitting on a massive 787,000% profit at the current $ETH price of $2,502. The development has sparked debate about whether a major whale dump is coming anytime soon.
Ethereum Whale Gains 787,000% from ICO Era Mints
A former Ethereum ICO participant, who holds over 1,000 ETH, recently woke up after a decade, sparking a debate in the community. According to Etherscan data, the Ethereum Wheel wallet bought this $ETH at the Genesis event for a modest investment of $310.
At current market prices, the wallet's holdings are valued at $2.44 million, representing an extraordinary 7,870x return on initial investment. ETH whale activity has increased in recent weeks, showing mixed behavior. Last week, a whale entity bought $10 million worth of ETH.
Additionally, Genesis-era Ethereum wheels have also become active as the ETH price enters a prolonged consolidation near $2,500. In mid-June, a similar Ethereum whale awoke after a 10-year slumber.
The wallet originally received 2,000 $ETH during Ethereum's Genesis event, which was bought for just $620. Today, those holdings are worth $5.03 million, highlighting Ethereum’s incredible appreciation since its early days.
ETH Profits Moving Forward?
The price of ETH has been teasing around the $2,500 level for quite some time now, and this recent whale activity has sparked talk of ETH profit booking. For now, the ICO-era whales are just rolling along; however, any potential upside could be met with selling pressure from them.
Furthermore, on-chain data also shows that a record number of short positions are currently being generated for ETH. Any reversal could potentially lead to a major short squeeze from here.
During the second quarter of 2025, the price of ETH increased by approximately 35%. This comes amid strong inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.
Last week, spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reported net weekly inflows of $283 million, led by BlackRock's ETHA, marking seven straight weeks of positive growth.