An Ethereum investor has just made $153,984,917 from an inactive investment that was made during the 2015 Ethereum ICO.
The investor who last activated their wallet in 2015 swapped 48,500 ETH to the OKX exchange on August 11, as spotted by Whale Alert. These tokens were bought for $0.311 per ETH and formed part of a 1 million ETH purchase. As of the time of writing, Ethereum is priced at $2,672.
Additionally, if the 48,500 ETH were purchased for $15,083 during the ICO. The dormant address profit exceeded $153 million, marking a return of over 1,020,917%.
The transaction highlights the potential return that long-term investors can achieve while showcasing the risks of the crypto market. Following this transaction, the address has 15,600 ETH and holds around 682,000 ETH across different wallets.
From this, it appears that the whale is in the process of selling off or transferring the assets or diversifying.
Market Response and Community Speculation to Ethereum Whale Moves
As more people became interested in a recent whale transaction, users of the X social media platform engaged in discussions and offered their opinions. One user speculated that the wallet involved belonged to a figure in the Ethereum network, such as Vitalik Buterin, Joseph Lubin, or Anthony Di Iorio.
Another trader stated that the whale’s activities are strategic. It may have indicated that it is better to sell assets now than later. However, some people pointed out that this particular wallet contains only 16,000 ETH or $42.6 million and that the sell-off might close soon.
On the same day, the market was reacting to this whale selling, another whale bought the same volume of ETH. This purchase of 5,000 ETH at $12.8 million is a pointer to the confidence in Ethereum’s potential.
According to data from blockchain analytics platform Scopescan, this whale’s last significant purchase occurred when ETH dropped to $2,100 before climbing back to $3,100, indicating a pattern of buying during dips.
Ethereum’s Bullish Momentum Shows Signs of Weakening
Even after a week of bullish performance triggered by positive regulatory development across the world, the ETH price is showing some signs of weakness. The price of Ethereum fell by 4% on the last day to $2,555 after hitting a high of $2,718.
Moreover, On-chain data suggests a rise in Ethereum staking withdrawals, implying that more investors are opting to cash out some of their holdings.
In the same timeframe, staking withdrawals rose to more than 122,000 ETH, meaning that there was an increase in selling pressure. This trend points to an increasing investor desire to lock in their gains rather than hold on to their investments in the face of market volatility.
This increase in whale activity, coupled with unstable demand, could further pressure Ethereum’s price in the near term.
