Ethereum ICO-era Whale Address Transfers 145,000 ETH Weeks Ahead of Merger

An Ethereum whale wallet that participated in the Genesis initial coin offering (ICO) and obtained around 150,000 Ether (ETH) in 2014 was reactivated on August 14 after three years of dormancy.

The whale address transferred 145,000 ETH to multiple wallets as the price of Ether hit a new three-month high of over $2,000. Transfers were made in batches of 5,000 ETH, with a few transfers over 10,000 ETH. The total value of Ether transferred is over $280 million and the wallet address currently has a balance of 0.107 ETH.

Ethereum ICO-era wallet transactions. Source: Etherscan

The transfer of 145,000 ETH was only the second time the whale wallet had been activated since the ICO, the first being in July 2019 when it sent 5,000 ETH to the Bitfinex exchange when Ether was trading at 219. $, with the transaction valued at just over a million. dollars.

The movement of such a large amount of ETH has caught the community’s attention, with many claiming that it could be abandoned before the merger – the official transition from the current proof-of-work-based blockchain to a proof blockchain. of attendance. However, it is important to note that most transactions are with unknown wallets rather than an exchange.

Even if the whale ultimately decides to dump its 145,000 ETH, a selling pressure of $250 million is not considered significant enough to trigger a market dump. A few others believe that the whale might be trying to stake their ETH to become a validator on the PoS network and generate passive income.

Ethereum’s transition to a proof-of-stake network is scheduled for September 15, following the successful merger of the Goerli testnet with the Beacon Chain (the PoS chain enabled in 2020), the last rehearsal before the official transition.

Related: 3 Cryptocurrencies Expected to Outperform ETH Price Thanks to Ethereum Merger

The merger is considered one of the most significant upgrades since Ethereum’s inception in 2015. The three-phase transition process began in 2020, and after multiple delays and testnet integrations, Ethereum is ready to go. officially at PoS in the third week of September.