Ethereum ICO Whale Stakes $646M After Three Years of Dormancy

An early Ethereum investor has reactivated a portion of their holdings with one of the largest staking deposits in recent memory.

On Thursday evening, on-chain data revealed that 150,000 ETH, valued at roughly $646 million, moved from three wallets linked to Ethereum’s 2014 initial coin offering (ICO) into a staking address. These wallets had remained inactive since February 2022, when they last processed non-ETH transactions.

The investor originally acquired 1 million ETH during the ICO for just $310,000, effectively purchasing ether at $0.31 per token. Today, that original position is worth an estimated $4.3 billion, according to Lookonchain data. Even after this week’s staking activity, two of the wallets still hold 105,000 ETH, valued at $451 million.

This move follows a pattern of resurfacing ICO whales. In recent weeks, one participant transferred $19 million in ETH to Kraken, while another moved 2,300 ETH to an exchange. Analysts view such movements as indicators of long-dormant supply re-entering circulation, though in this case, the funds were staked rather than liquidated.

Ethereum’s staking ecosystem has surpassed 33 million ETH this year, reflecting growing participation from long-term holders as yields stabilize and the network’s proof-of-stake model continues to mature.