Notably, a significant event occurred this past Saturday, marking the first substantial transaction from an individual who participated in the Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) since 2015.
The transaction involved the movement of 2,000 ether, valued at approximately $6.8 million, from an Ethereum ICO wallet. This wallet was established on July 30, 2015, over a year after the ICO’s inception, indicating a prolonged period of inactivity.
The Ethereum ICO, which commenced on July 22, 2014, attracted investors who purchased ETH tokens. During the ICO launch, seven million ether were sold at a rate of 2,000 ETH for a single BTC within the first 12 hours. With bitcoin valued at $621 on that day, investors acquired ETH at an approximate rate of $0.31 per token. These Ethereum ICO wallets, often referred to as “Genesis” addresses, are identifiable on the ether explorer etherscan.io.
Although the value of ETH had appreciated to $2.92 per token by July 30, 2015, the holder of the 2,000 ETH opted to retain their investment until now, resulting in a significant increase in value to $6.8 million. Notably, the funds were subsequently distributed among multiple addresses before being consolidated.
The Ethereum ICO attracted a total of 8,893 participants, who collectively acquired 72,009,990 ether. However, approximately 2.2 million ETH remains unclaimed in Genesis addresses to date. Over the years, a substantial portion of the Genesis ether has been gradually distributed, with notable awakenings during the 2017 bull market, including instances where addresses amassed significant ETH holdings from the ICO and subsequently liquidated them.
While some participants opted to sell their holdings during the 2017 bull market, others have chosen to hold onto their investments until more recent bull runs, such as those witnessed in 2021 and the present. Similarly, a surge in activity has been observed among vintage bitcoin addresses this month, attributed to the rising value of BTC.
