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

The amount of ETH transferred just a month before the merger has sparked community curiosity, with some claiming it will be dropped while others say it's for staking.

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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 inactivity.

The whale address moved 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 at Bitfinex exchange while Ether was trading at $219, with the transaction valued at just over $1 million.

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

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

Maybe sell 5000th to open 5000 future nodes?

— Gary R (@bucko4aFREEusa)