Dormant Ethereum ICO Whale Staked 40,000 ETH After 10 Years - A $100M+ Wake-Up Call

A wallet untouched since Ethereum's 2014 initial coin offering just woke up—and moved a nine-figure fortune into staking.

The Decade-Long Hibernation Ends

For ten years, this whale watched from the sidelines as ETH evolved from a white paper to the backbone of decentralized finance. No trades, no transfers—just pure, diamond-handed conviction. Then, with a single transaction, they committed 40,000 ETH to the network's proof-of-stake security.

What the Move Signals

This isn't casual profit-taking. Staking locks assets for the long haul, signaling deep confidence in Ethereum's future roadmap. It's a veteran player betting the house on the network's transition from miners to validators—and its ability to scale.

The Ripple Effect

Whale moves like this send tremors through the market. They validate the staking thesis for institutional players still on the fence. Suddenly, that 'digital gold' narrative gets competition from 'digital treasury bonds'—with actual yield. Of course, traditional finance pundits will call it reckless; the same crowd that missed Bitcoin at $100.

A New Era of Conviction

The message is clear: the smart money isn't just holding—it's putting its assets to work. While Wall Street debates ETFs, crypto's OGs are building the next financial system, one staked ETH at a time. Sometimes the loudest statement is a transaction that's been a decade in the making.

Staking over selling

Contrary to other similar historical events where activated ICO wallets have gone ahead to transfer funds onto centralized exchanges for selling, this whale chose a different direction. After the migration, the funds were channeled into a staking mechanism.

This means the assets are now actively participating in securing the Ethereum blockchain in return for staking rewards. The 0x2dCA wallet is a relic from Ethereum’s earliest days, having originated from the project’s 2014 ICO.

A 9,600x return

During the initial crowd sale, the whale had acquired the 40,000 ETH holdings for a reportedly invested sum of about $12,400. For more than a decade, this address lay in wait, silently safeguarding a successful early-stage venture capital return in history within its digital confines. At today’s valuation of ETH, the original investment has yielded a return multiple exceeding 9,600-fold. 

The awakening of such “sleeping giants” from the times of the ICO and others often implies that an owner has either recovered lost private keys or has decided that the current market conditions are optimal for such a move.

Implications on Ethereum blockchain

There are several implications for the Ethereum blockchain via such a large staking of $120 million. This translates to more decentralization and higher security for the network. The whale has tied up funds by choosing to stake instead of selling. 

This has widely been seen as a bullish, long-term endorsement of Ethereum’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism and future growth.

Also Read: Bhutan Government Moves $497K in ETH for Portfolio Management