Ethereum Whale Awakens: $120M Moves to Staking After a Decade of Dormancy

A sleeping giant just woke up—and it's betting big on Ethereum's future.

### The Decade-Long Hibernation Ends

After gathering dust for ten years, a massive cache of ETH just sprang to life. The owner didn't sell. They didn't transfer to an exchange. They staked it. All $120 million worth. That's not just a vote of confidence; it's a strategic deployment of capital that bypasses traditional yield products entirely.

### Why Staking, Why Now?

The move signals a shift from passive holding to active participation in the network's security. It locks liquidity, reduces sell-side pressure, and earns yield in a single transaction—something Wall Street would need three departments and six months of meetings to approximate. This whale isn't just sitting on digital gold; they're putting it to work.

### The Ripple Effect

When an entity this large moves, the market feels it. A stake of this size represents a tangible reduction in liquid supply. It's a bullish signal written in blockchain code, suggesting long-term conviction outweighs short-term profit-taking. Other large holders may follow, creating a virtuous cycle of validation and network strengthening.

Forget the talking heads on financial news—real money is voting with its wallet, and the ballot box is immutable. Sometimes the most powerful market analysis isn't a chart; it's a single transaction that cuts through the noise. After all, in crypto, actions speak louder than any analyst's report—especially when those actions would make a hedge fund manager's bonus look like pocket change.

TLDR

• An Ethereum whale has staked 40,000 ETH, worth $120M, after a decade of inactivity.
• The whale originally acquired the 40,000 ETH during Ethereum’s genesis block launch in 2015.
• Instead of selling or transferring the funds, the whale chose to stake the entire amount.
• Other Ethereum ICO-era whales are also making moves, with some selling portions of their holdings.
• Ethereum’s top 1% of holders now control 97.6% of the total supply, according to Glassnode.

A long-dormant ethereum whale has reemerged after nearly a decade, moving its substantial 40,000 ETH stash into staking. According to blockchain data platform Lookonchain, this wallet was created during Ethereum’s genesis block launch in July 2015. The whale originally acquired the tokens for around $12,000, but today, they are worth approximately $120 million.

Instead of liquidating the funds or moving them to an exchange, the whale has chosen to stake the entire holding. This action suggests the wallet owner is confident in Ethereum’s long-term prospects. Blockchain watchers have noted that such moves from early investors could have significant impacts on the crypto market’s liquidity.

Other Ethereum ICO Whales Opt to Sell or Stake Holdings

While some Ethereum ICO-era wallets are opting to sell, others continue to stake their holdings. A separate whale, which had accumulated 254,908 ETH during the ICO, began selling portions of its stash on November 26. After selling 20,000 Ether, the whale continued to divest, leaving only about $9.3 million worth of Ether by Saturday.

Ethereum ICO wallet (0x2dCA) with 40,000 $ETH($120M) woke up after 10+ years of dormancy — and instead of selling, he staked the $ETH.https://t.co/AreBCXNG4Thttps://t.co/OWpE8REjVw pic.twitter.com/pPZVwkkB1A

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 1, 2025

Another whale, who accumulated 154,076 Ether starting in 2017, has also moved some tokens. On the same day, they sent 18,000 Ether to the crypto exchange Bitstamp. This whale had previously sold 87,824 Ether at an average price of $1,694 per token.

A larger Ethereum ICO wallet that woke up in September also moved some funds into staking. This whale had acquired 1 million Ether during the ICO and transferred 150,000 tokens for staking. The remaining balance in the wallet remains intact, with the whale now securing a portion of its holdings in Ethereum’s staking ecosystem.

Ethereum’s Top Holders Still Accumulating

Despite some Ethereum whales choosing to sell, the largest holders are still increasing their stakes. Data from Glassnode reveals that the top 1% of Ethereum addresses now hold 97.6% of the total supply. This figure represents a rise from 96.1% just a year ago.

Ethereum’s Beacon Deposit Contract, which manages the staking of Ether, currently holds the largest amount of Ether. It contains approximately 72.4 million Ether, worth an estimated $203 billion. This contract holds nearly 60% of the total Ether supply.

In comparison, the next largest Ethereum holders include Binance and BlackRock, which each hold millions of ETH. Binance has 4 million Ether, while asset manager BlackRock possesses 3.9 million tokens. These figures highlight the concentrated distribution of Ethereum holdings among top addresses.