Dormant Ethereum Whale Returns After a Decade — And Drops 40,000 ETH Into Staking

Ethereum ICO Whale Stakes 40,000 ETH After a Decade of Silence

An early Ethereum ICO wallet holding 40,000 ETH — worth about $120 million — has moved for the first time in more than 10 years and sent the funds to staking rather than to an exchange, on-chain data shows.

On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported that the address starting with 0x2dCA woke up after long dormancy and began transferring ETH in batches to a new wallet. From there, the coins flowed in multiple 32-ETH transactions to the Beacon Deposit Contract, which is used to activate Ethereum validators.

Because each validator requires 32 ETH, the 40,000 ETH position is enough to run around 1,250 validators. As the screenshot from Etherscan indicates, the new wallet repeatedly sent 32 ETH “Deposit” transactions to the Beacon contract over the past few minutes.

The original wallet received its ETH during Ethereum’s 2014 initial coin offering and had not shown activity since then. Now, instead of sending the coins to trading venues, the owner has locked them into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system, shifting the funds from liquid supply into long-term staking.

Whale Sends 10,176 ETH to Kraken After 100-Day sETH Hold

An Ethereum whale moved 10,176 ETH, worth about $28.69 million, to Kraken after unwinding a large stETH position, on-chain data shows. The address converted the staked ETH (sETH) back to ETH, then sent the full stack to the exchange in two large deposits.

The wallet, tagged “Token Millionaire” and identified as 0xd908995fd431eb0078cd35e912ff14e45043818f, can be tracked for roughly five years, according to Nansen. Back in 2019, the same entity withdrew 21,086 ETH valued at $7.35 million and has since been slowly returning coins to exchanges.

Now, with this latest 10,176 ETH transfer following a 100-day hold in sETH, the whale has pushed a major chunk of its historical stash back toward trading venues.

ETH Breakout Accelerates as Price Clears Key Resistance Levels

Ethereum’s chart shows a decisive breakout after reclaiming two major horizontal zones that capped price action through the second half of the year. The move above the first resistance near the 3,000–3,100 USD area shifted momentum, while the clean push through the 3,600–3,700 USD band confirmed strength and removed the last major supply block before higher targets.

The chart highlights how ETH built a base around 2,650 USD, where buyers repeatedly absorbed sell pressure. That zone acted as the cycle’s main demand layer. Each rebound from this region strengthened the structure and narrowed the distance to the overhead levels.

Once ETH drove through the upper resistance, candles extended vertically. This shows aggressive follow-through, with very little pause between sessions. The current trend reflects strong market conviction, as the breakout did not face meaningful rejection after retesting the range.

Gordon’s post frames the move as a setup for a broader upside continuation. His chart underscores that ETH has removed the major barriers visible on the daily timeframe. With both resistance shelves now behind price, the structure points to open air above, although traders still watch for potential retests or consolidation phases after such a steep run.