Dormant Ethereum Whales Awaken: 1,140 ETH Suddenly on the Move After 10-Year Hibernation
Crypto's sleeping giants just stretched their legs—and the market felt it.
Two vintage Ethereum wallets—untouched since the pre-DeFi dark ages—suddenly sprang to life this week. The 1,140 ETH transfer (worth roughly $3.4M at today's prices) sent blockchain sleuths into a frenzy. Was this a long-term holder cashing out... or just a test run before bigger moves?
Timing is everything. The movement comes as ETH flirts with key resistance levels—classic whale behavior. These OG wallets bought in when gas fees could be paid with pocket lint. Now they're sitting on generational wealth while the rest of us battle for MEV scraps.
One cynical take? Maybe they're finally selling to fund their kids' Ivy League tuition—the ultimate proof that crypto 'degens' grow up to become boring capitalists like everyone else.
Dormant wallets have been moving their assets recently
Ethereum launched in 2015 as a proof-of-work blockchain, offering block rewards like Bitcoin. In September 2022, it shifted to a proof-of-stake model through The Merge, a transition designed to lower the network’s energy consumption.
Since 2015, the wallets have remained dormant, and ETH has surged by 89,450%, per TradingView’s analysis. One of the two wallets moved 900 ETH while the other 240 ETH, and according to blockchain sleuth Whale Alert, the 900 ETH was worth only $279 in 2015.
Lately, there’s been a spike in the number of reactivated wallets across the crypto market. Just last Friday, three Bitcoin wallets, inactive for over 14 years, moved billions of dollars in funds. Additionally, dormant since the early days of Bitcoin, some Satoshi-era wallets moved coins worth close to $44 million in 2024.
Meanwhile, a US government-owned wallet recently sent 86.56 ETH—worth approximately $200,000—to Coinbase Prime. The crypto assets had been confiscated in 2022 from Chase Senecal on suspicion of NFT fraud and hacking operations. Arkham Intelligence said the wallet initially conducted a $10 test transaction before moving the full amount to the exchange.
The network’s Pectra upgrade drove a price surge in ETH
At press time, ethereum remained relatively stable despite the two wallet transactions. Ethereum is currently trading at $2,542. The ongoing network development heavily influenced the current token price. Ethereum developers advanced the network in May with the Pectra upgrade, adding support for smart accounts and scalability improvements. ETH rose from $1,812 to over $2,540 in the following weeks.
Ethereum founders Vitalik Buterin and Toni Wahrstätter have also proposed a few additional upgrades to the network. Most recently, Wahrstätter proposed to have a gas cap of 16.77M per transaction, stating that it WOULD improve the network’s efficiency and robustness.
Bit Digital bought more Ethereum for its treasury
Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital also increased its Ethereum holdings to 100,603 ETH, over a 300% rise from its balance of 24,434 ETH at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The firm announced that it used the gains from a recent $172 million public offering and the sale of 280 BTC to support its ETH treasury strategy.
Before, the company focused on building its BTC holdings but shifted to an ETH-native treasury in June. At the time, Bit Digital’s CEO, Sam Tabar, said they were starting with exposure to over 100,000 ETH and planned to aggressively increase their holdings to become the leading ETH holding company globally.
In addition to Bit Digital, firms such as SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and BitMine (BMNR) are also ramping up their ETH acquisitions. BitMine recently announced a $250 million offering aimed at purchasing Ethereum.
CF Benchmarks even projects that multiple other institutions will dive into ETH and SOL acquisitions. It predicted companies holding the two assets could increase tenfold in the next 12 months.
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