An early Ethereum investor cashed out another $60 million worth of tokens this week, realizing massive gains from a decade-old investment that cost just $79,000. Despite the selling pressure from original participants, the wealthiest Ether holders continue steadily building positions as institutional sentiment improves.
The sale represents the latest transaction in a methodical profit-taking strategy from wallet address 0x2Eb, which acquired 254,908 Ether during the 2014 initial coin offering at roughly $0.31 per token. That original $79,000 investment has grown to over $757 million at current valuations, delivering a staggering 9,500-fold return across 11 years, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
Following Wednesday's transaction, the wallet's balance dropped to approximately $9.3 million in Ether, data from crypto intelligence firm Nansen shows. The ICO participant has been systematically distributing holdings since early September rather than engaging in sudden panic selling.
Market observers expressed mixed reactions to the continued profit-taking. Some investors praised the holder's patience and discipline, while others viewed the sales as a potentially bearish signal for cryptocurrency markets. "This trend of OGs selling their bags is concerning," responded one X user monitoring the transactions.
What Happened
The selling activity comes from one of Ethereum's earliest supporters who participated in the network's ICO held between July and September 2014. During that initial fundraising event, the project raised approximately $18 million by selling over 60 million ETH tokens at an average price of $0.31, with exchange rates allowing investors to purchase 2,000 ETH per Bitcoin initially and later 1,337 ETH as prices adjusted.
While some early participants take profits, Ethereum's largest holders demonstrate different behavior. The supply of Ether controlled by the top 1% of addresses climbed to 97.6% as of Wednesday, up from 96.1% one year ago, according to blockchain data platform Glassnode. This concentration reflects sustained accumulation by the wealthiest wallets despite market volatility.
Recent data shows addresses holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH reached a combined balance exceeding 21 million tokens in late November, an all-time high for this category. Additionally, holders with more than 100,000 ETH expanded their positions to approximately 4.3 million tokens, reinforcing the accumulation wave identified across major investor groups.
Institutional demand is also recovering. U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded funds recorded $60 million in net positive inflows on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive day of gains after eight straight days of outflows, data from Farside Investors indicates. The turnaround follows broader December strength, with Ethereum ETFs attracting over $2.6 billion in net inflows throughout the month.
BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust led among peers with approximately $3.5 billion in 2024 net inflows, while Fidelity's Ethereum Fund secured second place with $1.5 billion. These figures remain below Bitcoin ETF performance but represent substantial institutional interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Why It Matters
The contrasting behavior between early sellers and large accumulators highlights divergent strategies in Ethereum's investor base. While original ICO participants realize life-changing gains from their early bets, institutional players and wealthy individuals position for potential future appreciation tied to network developments.
"The combination of steady inflows and rising derivatives activity suggests investors are rebuilding exposure selectively rather than rotating aggressively across the complex," Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo, [told]https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-ico-whale-60m-9-500x-gain-top-1-buying-eth)) Cointelegraph. He characterized the Ether ETF flows as "constructive" but noted the market's reaction remains "measured."
The accumulation occurs ahead of Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade scheduled for December 3, which will introduce PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) technology. This advancement aims to dramatically increase the network's data capacity while reducing bandwidth requirements for validators, potentially making layer-2 transactions faster and cheaper over time. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has described PeerDAS as "the key to layer-2 scaling."
Market analysts from Fidelity Digital Assets noted that Fusaka represents "a decisive shift toward a more strategically aligned and economically coherent roadmap" for Ethereum. The upgrade could strengthen the network's value proposition as it continues competing with alternative layer-1 blockchains and supporting a growing ecosystem of rollup solutions.
Historical patterns suggest periods of heavy whale accumulation typically coincide with solid price base formation ahead of major upward movements. Current exchange supply is tightening as well, with Ethereum reserves on major platforms declining since September, indicating migration into staking contracts or offline storage.
The steady selling from ICO-era wallets provides an ongoing test of market depth and institutional appetite. So far, the network has absorbed these large disposals without catastrophic price declines, demonstrating maturity in Ethereum's liquidity structure even as it trades well below its August 2025 all-time high near $4,950.
Read also: Ethereum Needs New Buyers to Break $3,000 Resistance, On-Chain Data Shows