A wallet that participated in Ethereum's original 2015 initial coin offering has moved funds for the first time in more than a decade, sending 0.1 ETH to Coinbase after 11 years of complete dormancy. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain identified the address, labeled "0x6A53," and noted that the wallet's initial ICO contribution totaled just $620, which purchased 2,000 ETH at the token's original sale price — a position now worth approximately $3.83 million, a return of roughly 6,184 times the original investment.
The Lookonchain tracking flagged the movement as part of its routine monitoring of long-dormant Ethereum addresses, a category of wallets that has drawn increasing attention as more pre-mine and ICO-era holders begin moving funds after a decade or more of inactivity.
A Pattern Among Ethereum's Earliest Holders
The wallet is not an isolated case. Separate on-chain data shows another pre-mine Ethereum address, dormant since 2015, moving 2,000 ETH worth roughly $3.78 million in July — a position that was also worth around $620 at the time of the original ICO contribution, suggesting either a closely comparable holder or the same broader cohort of early participants beginning to stir. Other addresses tracked by on-chain researchers this year have shown similar patterns: one wallet holding 850 ETH from a $263.50 ICO contribution sent an initial 1 ETH test transaction to Coinbase before moving the bulk of its holdings in batches, a common technique dormant holders use to confirm an exchange deposit address works before committing larger sums.
The small initial transfer size in this case, just 0.1 ETH against a much larger total holding, fits that same cautious pattern, suggesting the wallet's owner may be testing the deposit process rather than immediately liquidating the full position.
Why These Wallets Keep Surfacing
Ethereum's 2015 ICO sold ETH at a fraction of a cent per token to early backers, meaning even modest five- or six-hundred-dollar contributions from a decade ago can now be worth millions of dollars at current prices. As Ethereum has matured and price levels have climbed over multiple market cycles, a steady trickle of these ultra-early wallets has reactivated, each triggering renewed attention from on-chain trackers watching for signs of concentrated selling from addresses old enough to predate nearly every exchange, wallet provider, and Layer-2 network in use today.
Whether the wallet's owner intends to sell the full 2,000 ETH position or was simply consolidating funds remains unclear, but Lookonchain and similar trackers typically continue monitoring flagged addresses for follow-up transfers once an initial test transaction like this one appears.
