A Dormant Ethereum Wallet Comes Alive
An Ether wallet that has been lying dormant since 2015 has suddenly awakened. The inactive wallet, which acquired 8,000 ETH during Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) in 2015, transferred its entire ETH holdings within a span of two minutes on May 27, after a long eight years of inactivity.
Transferring Millions in Minutes
Initially, the owner began with a cautious transfer of a single ETH to a new wallet. Shortly after, in a swift follow-up move, they shifted the remaining 7,999 ETH to the new wallet address. At the time of writing, the transacted ETH stash is valued at a staggering $14.7 million.
Discovery by Blockchain Analytics
The transaction was detected by blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, which promptly informed its extensive base of 219,000 Twitter followers about the event. The revelation sparked speculation among the cryptocurrency community, with suggestions ranging from the owner being recently released from prison to jests about moving funds from an old Ledger.
Massive ROI for the Wallet Owner
The 8,000 ETH was initially purchased at a mere price of $0.31 per token. This puts the original investment at around $2,500. Considering today’s ETH prices of approximately $1,917, the owner is sitting on a whopping 590,000% return on their investment.
The Trend of Reactivating ICO-Era Ether Wallets
Interestingly, this isn’t the only instance of an ICO-era Ether wallet stirring back into action. In recent months, there have been similar cases of ETH transfers from long-dormant wallets, indicating a potential trend among early Ethereum investors.
The Newly Activated Wallet’s Transactions
The new wallet address has scant significant transaction history. The only notable transfer, aside from the recent 8,000 ETH transfer, is a 207 ETH ($380,000) incoming transaction from another wallet that had remained dormant since 2017.
Additional Tokens in the New Wallet
Apart from ETH, the new wallet also hosts some memecoins. It contains $46 worth of a memecoin named Gensler (GENSLR) and a minuscule amount, $0.24, of a dragon-inspired token named Dejitaru Tsuka (TSUKA).
The Initial Journey of Ethereum’s ICO
The Ethereum ICO, which ran from July to September 2014, raised $18 million in two stages. The pre-sale exchange rate was 1 Bitcoin for 2,000 ETH. Ethereum blockchain was only launched on July 30, 2015, meaning that investors
