Dormant Ethereum Whale Returns, Sells $29M in ETH Without Impacting Market Momentum

• Dormant ETH whale moved $47.85M after 3 years, triggering large on-chain activity.
• 16,500 ETH sold since April 17 with no major impact on Ethereum’s rising price.
• Market absorbed $29M in ETH sales; ETH climbed to $1,842.49 by May 4.

A long-inactive Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) participant has resumed activity after years of silence, triggering a wave of high-volume transfers beginning on April 17. Blockchain data shows the participant moved 30,000 ETH valued at approximately $47.85 million at the time, ending a dormancy of over three years.

The reactivated address, initially funded with 76,000 ETH during Ethereum ‘s genesis phase in 2015, has since offloaded more than half its holdings through a series of transactions spanning several days.

The participant, who acquired 76,000 ETH at the ICO price of roughly $0.31, transferred the full amount to the wallet 0xD612597B…9426bD925 over 3,500 days ago. That address had remained inactive until mid-April 2025. On April 17, it transferred 30,000 ETH, including a 3,000 ETH deposit, worth around $4.78 million, to crypto exchange Kraken.

Following that transaction, the wallet initiated a sequence of additional movements. Some transfers were as large as 60,000 ETH and 5,504.982 ETH, redirected to new addresses including 0x738e8368…f55f4EAaF and 0x96f59616…7a7B10be7. Other transfers reportedly came from wallets that had previously interacted with exchanges such as Poloniex, suggesting legacy wallet consolidation or reactivation.

Due to their timing, scale, and origin, the transactions led to discussion. Blockchain records indicate many of the transfers occurred in quick succession, raising attention among on-chain observers and signaling a potential return of the long-dormant supply to active circulation.

Market Absorbs $29M in ETH Sales With No Lasting Price Impact

Since April 17, the wallet has sold a total of 16,500 ETH, amounting to roughly $29.35 million in realized value. These sales were executed at an average price of $1,779 per ETH. The most recent transaction, six hours before the latest data capture, involved the sale of 1,500 ETH worth $1.76 million.

Despite the size of these transactions, Ethereum’s market price continued to trend upward. On April 18, when a 3,000 ETH sale was recorded, ETH was trading at about $1,620. Over the following weeks, additional sales, each for 1,500 or 3,000 ETH, were recorded between April 25 and May 3.

As of May 4, Ethereum reached a trading price of $1,842.49. The 24-hour price range narrowed to $1,816.86–$1,845.77, with trading volume surpassing $7.2 billion and a market capitalization of $222 billion. The wallet still holds 13,500 ETH valued at approximately $24.82 million.