- An Ethereum ICO participant has awakened after eight years.
- The account has been linked to a core Ethereum developer.
- The move follows a surge in Ethereum ICO and whale movements in the last two days, including an exchange deposit from Vitalik Buterin.
Amid relatively flat price performances in September, uncertainty remains the dominant narrative for most crypto assets, including Ethereum (ETH).
With prices searching for a narrative to replicate meteoric gains made in previous bull cycles, significant transfers from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and ETH’s initial coin offering (ICO) participants have raised eyebrows in the past two days. The latest ETH ICO wallet to awaken appears to be linked to a core developer of the network.Â
Will the second-largest crypto asset by market cap be able to withstand the storm, or will it break down?
Another ICO Whale Awakens
On Wednesday, September 20, crypto whale tracker Whale Alert disclosed that an ETH ICO address with 200 ETH had moved for the first time in over eight years.
Sponsored
As highlighted by on-chain sleuth “The Data Nerd,” the ICO participant had moved 192.2 ETH (worth approximately $313.2k) to Coinbase in two transactions of 32.1 ETH and 160.1 ETH, respectively.
Chiming in, Lookonchain revealed that the ICO address was associated with Ethereum core developer Danno Ferrin.
Despite its relatively small size, the recent move from the previously dormant wallet is the latest in a growing list of ETH ICO participants, including Buterin, who have transferred millions of ETH in the past two days, with the bulk of it landing on exchanges.
ETH ICO Participants, Whales, and Buterin Move $31M
Over the past two days, Ethereum ICO participants and Buterin have moved about $31 million worth of ETH.
On Monday, September 18, an ICO participant who received 254.9k ETH kicked things off by moving 6k ETH (worth approximately $9.96 million) to Kraken, according to on-chain data from Lookonchain.
On Tuesday, September 19, another whale sent out 10k ETH (worth approximately $16.5 million). The whale had also sent out 10k ETH to Binance, OKX, and KuCoin from three different addresses four days prior after two years of dormancy, according to Lookonchain.
On the same day, PeckShield revealed that Vitalik Buterin had transferred 300 ETH (worth $490k) to Kraken.
And before the ETH ICO wallet associated with Ferrin moved, a whale sold 2,591 ETH for $4.18 million worth of stablecoins after four years of dormancy.
An Impending Price Dump?
As is typically the case, this whale transfer surge has triggered speculation of an impending price dump as crypto transfers to exchanges typically indicate an intent to sell. These speculations are further fueled by the fact that ICO participants purchased ETH at $0.31, representing an over 526,000% gain at current prices despite the extended crypto winter.Â
But Ethereum’s price is holding steady, trading at $1,629 at the time of writing, representing a negligible 0.94% loss in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
There are also speculations that recent movements could result from wallet hacks. One of Mark Cuban’s wallets was recently hacked for about $900k after months of dormancy.
On the Flipside
- It remains unclear what many of these whales intend to do or have done with funds deposited on exchanges.
- Ethereum’s price is holding steady.
Why This Matters
Crypto transfers to exchanges typically indicate an intent to sell. Recent large ETH transfers to exchanges indicate millions in selling pressure. The involvement of Ethereum insiders further compounds the potential psychological impact on the market.
Read this to learn more about a recent 300k ETH transfer to Coinbase:
Mammoth 300K ETH Transfer to Coinbase Stirs Market Uncertainty
Find out how you can protect yourself from a new NFT scam targeting Ethereum and Polygon users:
ETH, Polygon Users at Risk in New NFT Scam: How to Stay Safe
