$ADA According to data tracked by Whale Alert, the long-dormant Genesis pre-mined Ethereum wallet has just awakened, moving 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 were directly credited with ETH from the Genesis block during Ethereum's official debut. These early addresses belonged to supporters, developers, and investors who backed Ethereum's initial coin offering (ICO) 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 ETH awakenings are more in line with 2010 Bitcoin wallets in terms of rarity—even though those pale in comparison to the nearly mythical reactivations of BTC addresses from 2009. Before today's transfer of 230 ETH, the most recent 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.