Long-Idle Ethereum Wallet Springs to Life, Transferring Millions After 8-Year Slumber

The Dormant Ethereum Wallet’s Resurgence

The dormant Ethereum wallet that had participated in Ethereum’s ICO (initial coin offering) in 2015 recently came back to life after 8 years of inactivity. On May 27, the wallet owner initiated a cautious transfer by sending 1 ETH to a new wallet address. Shortly after, they moved the remaining 7,999 ETH to the same address.

As of now, the total value of the ETH stash amounts to approximately $14.7 million.

This noteworthy transaction was initially discovered by Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics service. They promptly shared the news with their 219,000 followers on Twitter.

In response to the post, community members speculated about the motive behind the transfer. Some suggested that the owner had been recently released from prison, while others humorously implied that funds were being transferred from an old Ledger, alluding to the company’s controversial new Recover upgrade.

ICO-Era Ether Wallets Reviving

This Ethereum wallet is not the only one from the ICO era to reawaken in recent months. On April 24, another wallet containing 2,365 ETH (equivalent to $4.5 million) made its first transaction in almost eight years, with the owner moving 2,360 ETH to a new wallet address.

Similarly, on March 5, a different ETH wallet that had remained dormant for five years transferred 10,226 ETH (worth $19.6 million) to a new wallet address.

The new wallet address in focus also lacks significant transaction history. There is only one additional incoming transaction of 207 ETH ($380,000), recorded just a few minutes before the recent transfer. Notably, the additional 207 ETH originated from another inactive wallet that had remained untouched since June 12, 2017.

Curiously, the new wallet also holds approximately $46 worth of a memecoin called Gensler (GENSLR) and a mere $0.24 worth of a dragon-inspired token called Dejitaru Tsuka (TSUKA), according to data from the Web3 wallet tracker DeBank.

The Ethereum ICO and Redemption

The Ethereum ICO raised $18 million through two stages between July and September of 2014. During the pre-sale, the exchange rate was set at 1 Bitcoin for 2,000 ETH. However, the Ethereum blockchain was not launched until July 30, 2015, meaning investors had to wait over a year to redeem and utilize their Ether.

Reasons Behind Dormant Wallet Activity

Dormant wallets containing substantial amounts of cryptocurrency can awaken for various reasons. In some cases, the reawakening may occur due to hacking incidents. In other instances, the owner may have simply forgotten about the wallet and, upon rediscovery, decided it was an opportune time to sell.