Ethereum ICO whale offloads $23M in ETH after 10-year hold

• An early Ethereum investor sold 11,552 ETH for approximately $23.4 million during a series of transactions on Thursday.
• The participant originally purchased 38,800 ETH during the 2014 ICO for just $12,000, representing an entry price of $0.31 per token.
• This activity follows another major liquidation earlier this week, where a separate ICO-era whale moved 15,002 ETH to an exchange.

Details of the Whale Liquidation

On-chain tracking from Lookonchain has identified a significant move by a long-term Ethereum holder. The wallet, starting with 0xd64A, transferred a total of 18,500 ETH (valued at $38.1 million) to a secondary address. From this stash, the investor sold 11,552 ETH at an average price of approximately $2,027 per token.

This specific wallet belongs to a participant in Ethereum's initial token sale roughly ten years ago. At the time, the investor acquired 38,800 ETH for a total cost of $12,000. Had the investor held the entire original amount until today, the portfolio would be valued at nearly $80 million.

Trend Among Long-Term Holders

This transaction is part of a growing trend where "ancient" whales are beginning to realize profits after holding through multiple market cycles. Just days prior to this sale, another wallet from the ICO era offloaded 15,002 ETH, worth roughly $31 million, by transferring the funds to Coinbase. These investors, who have seen the asset grow from cents to thousands of dollars, appear to be trimming their positions despite still holding substantial balances.

Market Context and Performance

Following these large-scale sales, the price of Ethereum experienced a 2.6% decline over a 24-hour period. By early Friday morning, the cryptocurrency was trading at $2,058. Despite various recovery phases in the broader crypto market, Ethereum remains down more than 50% from its historical peak of approximately $4,900, which was reached in late 2021.