Ethereum Whale Moves 2,000 ETH After 10-Year Hold, Worth $4.2M

• An address beginning with 0x158 moved nearly 2,000 ETH after more than 10 years.
• Arkham data showed the ETH was bought during Ethereum’s 2014 presale at about $0.31 per coin.
• Ethereum’s 2014 token sale ran from July 22 to September 2, with ETH priced around $0.31.

A long-dormant Ethereum presale wallet moved nearly 2,000 ETH after holding the coins for more than a decade, turning one of Ethereum’s earliest purchases into a multimillion-dollar position.

Arkham monitoring showed that the address, starting with 0x158, bought the ETH during the 2014 Ethereum presale at about $0.31 per token. At current prices, the transfer was worth around $4.2 million, compared with an original cost of roughly $620.

Data showed the old wallet moved 1,998 ETH to another address, followed by two smaller 1 ETH transfers. The larger transfer was valued at about $4.22 million in the dashboard data.

The receiving wallet held around 1.999K ETH after the movement, with the portfolio value shown near $4.22 million. The ETH price on the Arkham screen was around $2,113.15, matching the approximate valuation of the transfer.

The address had stayed inactive for years after acquiring the coins during Ethereum’s earliest funding period. That makes the movement notable since presale wallets are often watched closely by on-chain analysts. Their transfers can show when early holders move funds for custody, security, estate planning, OTC activity, or possible sale preparation.

However, the data shared on X do not show an exchange deposit. They show a transfer from one wallet to another. That means the movement confirms activity, but not a sale.

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Ethereum’s 2014 token sale priced ETH at roughly $0.31 per coin, according to historical ICO data. The sale started on July 22, 2014, and ran until September 2, 2014. More than 60 million ETH were sold during that period, with buyers paying in Bitcoin.

At that price, 2,000 ETH cost about $620. With ETH trading near $2,110 to $2,115 in recent market data, the same amount is now worth about $4.2 million. CoinGecko showed ETH near $2,095 with a market cap of about $252 billion, while other live market trackers also placed ETH close to the same range.

That puts the gain at roughly 6,800 times the original presale cost, based on the Arkham post’s calculation. The return reflects Ethereum’s move from an early experimental blockchain project to the second-largest crypto asset by market value.

Notably, the wallet’s movement came as ETH traded far below its previous cycle highs but still thousands of times above the presale price.

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Dormant presale transfers often attract attention as early Ethereum holders control coins acquired at very low cost. When those wallets move, traders usually watch whether funds go to exchanges or fresh self-custody addresses.

In this case, Arkham’s visible transfer history showed the funds moving to another wallet, not directly into an exchange account. That keeps the immediate market impact limited from the available data.

Still, the movement adds to a wider pattern of old crypto wallets becoming active after long dormancy. These transfers do not always mean selling, but they show that early holders are reviewing or moving assets after years of inactivity.

For Ethereum, the transaction also highlights the scale of gains from the 2014 presale. A $620 position has become a $4.2 million wallet balance after more than 10 years, making the address one of the latest examples of long-term holding turning into a major on-chain event.