Ethereum Presale Wallet Moves 2,000 ETH Worth $4.2 Million After More Than a Decade of Inactivity
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Key Takeaways
- A 2014 Ethereum presale wallet holding 1,998 ETH, originally purchased for ~$620 at $0.31 per token, moved its funds after more than 10 years of dormancy.
- The transfer went wallet-to-wallet with no exchange deposit detected, meaning a sale cannot be confirmed from available on-chain data.
- The position has grown approximately 6,800x from its original cost, reflecting a current value of roughly $4.2 million at the time of transfer.
A wallet that acquired nearly 2,000 ETH during Ethereum’s 2014 presale at approximately $0.31 per token transferred its holdings after more than 10 years of dormancy, turning an original outlay of roughly $620 into a position now valued at approximately $4.2 million, according to on-chain monitoring platform Arkham.
Arkham Data Identifies the Dormant Address and Its Presale Origins
The address, beginning with 0x158, moved 1,998 ETH to another wallet, followed by two separate one ETH transfers, Arkham monitoring data showed. The Arkham dashboard recorded the larger transfer at approximately $4.22 million, with the ETH price displayed on-screen at around $2,113.15. The receiving wallet held approximately 1,999 ETH following the movement, with a portfolio value shown at roughly $4.22 million.
Arkham’s data indicated the coins were purchased during Ethereum’s earliest fundraising period, placing the original cost basis at approximately $0.31 per token. The address had remained inactive for years after that acquisition before the recent movement was recorded.
Ethereum’s 2014 Token Sale Priced ETH at $0.31 Per Coin
Ethereum‘s 2014 token sale opened on July 22, 2014, and closed on September 2, 2014, with ETH priced at approximately $0.31 per coin, according to historical ICO data. More than 60 million ETH were sold during that window, with buyers paying primarily in Bitcoin, according to historical ICO data. At that price, 2,000 ETH carried an original cost of approximately $620.
At the time of the transfer, ETH was trading between approximately $2,110 and $2,115 across live market data. CoinGecko showed ETH near $2,095 at the time of publication, compared to approximately $2,113.15 displayed on Arkham at the time of the transfer, with a market cap of approximately $252 billion. Based on Arkham’s calculation, the position represents a gain of roughly 6,800 times the original presale cost.
Transfer Goes Wallet to Wallet, Not to an Exchange
The on-chain data, as published by Arkham on X, does not show a deposit to an exchange account. The visible transfer history on Arkham showed funds moving from one wallet to another, meaning the activity confirms movement but not a sale.
Arkham’s available transfer history showed no funds flowing directly into an exchange address, which keeps the immediate market impact limited based on available data.
The 0x158 address is among several long-dormant crypto wallets that have moved funds in recent months, according to on-chain monitoring platforms. Arkham’s transfer data for this address showed the funds arriving at a wallet address, with no exchange deposit recorded in the visible history.
