Blockchain tracking platform Whale Alert recently spotlighted a fascinating event: an ancient Ethereum wallet has awakened after nearly a decade of dormancy, revealing a staggering profit of 1,092,728%. This revelation comes at a time when Ethereum is experiencing significant market volatility.
The tweet from Whale Alert indicated that this dormant wallet, which has been inactive for 9.4 years, is a pre-mine address holding 1,940 ETH. For those unfamiliar, pre-mine addresses were created during the early days of Ethereum, facilitating initial coin offerings (ICO). This particular wallet belonged to an ICO participant who initially acquired their ETH from the Genesis block back in 2014. What’s particularly astounding is that this participant’s Ethers originally cost $601, but the current value skyrockets to $6,567,522. That’s right—a jaw-dropping 1,092,728% increase in value!
In another tweet, Lookonchain elaborated on this story, noting that this participant transferred just 0.01 ETH to a new wallet, signaling their return to the crypto scene. As if things couldn’t get wilder, this week has seen a surge in whale activity concerning Ethereum. Whale Alert shared that 15,000 ETH were withdrawn from Binance, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform, and 47,534 ETH were traded between two anonymous wallets—valued at $50,710,678 and $164,899,942, respectively.
Despite these intriguing developments, the market has not been kind to Ethereum recently. Over the past two days, ETH has experienced a decline of approximately 5%, dropping from $3,495 to $3,320. As of now, it has seen a slight rebound to $3,420. It’s worth noting that earlier this month, Ethereum faced a steep 22% crash, plummeting from the $4,026 mark to $3,102, largely reflecting the broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market, particularly following pronouncements from Federal Reserve Chair Powell regarding monetary policy changes.
In a contrasting twist, BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF, known as the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), has outperformed the Bitcoin ETF from the same firm. On Tuesday, ETHA saw inflows nearing $44 million, while the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) faced outflows of about $188 million. This shift indicates a growing interest in Ethereum over Bitcoin, despite the overall market trends.
In this intriguing landscape, this awakening of an ancient ETH wallet not only serves as a testament to the enduring potential of cryptocurrency investments but also highlights the excitement and unpredictability that define the Ethereum space. Whether you’re an avid investor or just dipping your toes into the crypto waters, the Ethereum saga continues to deliver surprises.
