An Ethereum (ETH) Initial Coin Offering (ICO) participant has resurfaced after more than 8.7 years of inactivity, sparking suspicion in the larger digital currency industry.
Ethereum ICO Whale and Selloff Move
The whale’s initial step, according to data from the crypto analytics firm Lookonchain, is to transfer 2000 ETH worth up to $6.7 million based on the digital currency’s current market price of $3,350.
According to Lookonchain, the Ethereum whale acquired the 2,000 ETH coins at Genesis for $0.31 each. This puts the total amount of ETH received at the time at $620, with an overall growth rate of 1,080,545.16%.
It’s not unusual for Ethereum ICO whales to reawaken after years of inactivity. What is remarkable, however, is the timing of their development and the activities done in response. This whale sent exactly 1,999 ETH to an unknown wallet rather than a specific exchange wallet.
This private address may indicate a shift to an OTC desk for liquidation. Another option is for the funds to be moved to a staking address or another wallet for safety purposes. Notably, this whale began using the wallet with another transaction using the ShibaInu.eth name service hours after the Genesis coin transaction was completed.
Suitable Time For the Whale Emergence
Given the protocol’s recent expansion, the timing of the Ethereum ICO whale’s debut makes sense.
At the time the whale took the 2,000 ETH, the protocol used a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus paradigm, with miners responsible for transaction validation. The Ethereum Foundation converted the network to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain via The Merge event, citing environmental concerns and the necessity to design a route ahead for greater scalability.
The development effort on Ethereum also included the launch of Dencun Upgrade this month, as well as plans to introduce Electra Upgrade to power additional data composability. The new Ethereum ICO whale transfer occurs at a time when ETH is rebounding after falling from a 52-week high of $4,092.28 to a low of $2,906.58.Ethereum is now trading at $3,401.55, up 0.65% in the last 24 hours.
