A wallet that received more than 61,000 Ethers during the Ethereum ICO in 2014 has just transferred its ETH to Kraken after a period of inactivity of more than 8 years. This transfer has sparked speculation as to its motivations, which could be related to a sale, an exchange for other cryptocurrencies, or simply a staking strategy.
An Ethereum ICO whale wakes up 8 years later
A wallet that received more than 61,000 Ethers during Ethereum’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014 has suddenly transferred its ETHs to Kraken, without having had any activity in the intervening 8+ years.
Although the motives behind this major transfer of funds are unknown, it could point to a sale or exchange for other crypto-currencies, or more simply for staking purposes.
Overview of the 2 ETH transactions related to the ICO and the transfer
Initially, the whale had received over 61,216 Ethers at a price of $0.31 cents, or less than $19,000. Considering today’s ETH price, the whale has generated a capital gain of more than 610,526%.
It is quite rare for whales to wake up so long after accumulating so many tokens, especially without having had the slightest ancillary activity. However, we also remember that last April, 2 whales transferred more than $70 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) after more than a decade of inactivity… Rather disturbing transfers.
The price of Ether did not react at all to the transfer, currently trading at around $1,920.
The Ethereum ICO, a boon for the most patient
An ICO, akin to raising funds with cryptocurrencies, allows projects to get off the ground by offering one token in exchange for another. At the time of the Ethereum ICO, called Genesis and carried out in 2014, the project teams offered Ether in exchange for Bitcoin, a completely innovative project at the time. In the first 12 hours of the ICO alone, more than 7 million ETH were distributed, equivalent to more than $2.2 million.
At the very start of the ICO, 1 Bitcoin (then worth between $668 and $460) was exchanged for 2,000 ETH. More than $18.3 million had been raised by the Ethereum Foundation by the end of the Genesis ICO, a resounding success that signalled the democratisation of this type of fundraising.
Although these practices can be lucrative, you need to be particularly careful when taking part in ICOs. The excitement generated by the Ethereum ICO has led to quality projects taking advantage of these fundraisings, but it has also created new opportunities for malicious individuals to engage in scams.
