26596369354According to data tracked by Whale Alert, the long-dormant Genesis pre-mined Ethereum wallet has just come to life, transferring 230 ETH for the first time in nearly a decade.

From $71 to $590,000: A forgotten Ethereum wallet awakens in 2025.

In July 2015, approximately 8,893 different wallets directly received ETH from the Genesis block during the official debut of Ethereum. These early addresses belonged to supporters, developers, and investors who backed the initial coin offering (ICO) of ether in 2014.

At that time, approximately 72,009,990.49948 ETH was distributed to these early users. Among the 2,546 wallets that received between 100 and 1,000 ETH, one has just reactivated after nearly 10 years, transferring 230 ETH—now valued at $590,823, compared to just $71, for which it was acquired.

During the ICO window from July 22 to September 2, 2014, pre-mined ether was sold in exchange for Bitcoin (BTC). Estimates suggest that the Ethereum team raised between 31,000 and 31,500 BTC from the ICO. While it is common to see dormant bitcoins from 2011 to 2017, Genesis-era Ethereum wallets do not often appear online.

In fact, these ancient awakenings of ETH are more in line with Bitcoin wallets from 2010 in terms of rarity—though even those pale in comparison to the nearly mythological reactivations of BTC addresses from 2009. Prior to today's transfer of 230 ETH, the latest sleeping pre-mined Ethereum address to awaken was on May 24, when its owner moved 2,153 ETH valued at $5.43 million. In 2015, this supply was valued at a modest $667.