The Longest Sleep in Ethereum History Just Ended
An early Ethereum ICO investor has broken 10.6 years of complete silence, Cointelegraph reported on February 16, marking what appears to be the longest dormancy period ever recorded for a genesis-era Ethereum wallet attempting to move funds.
The wallet participated in Ethereum's initial coin offering in mid-2014, when ETH tokens sold for roughly $0.31 each. It then went completely dark, making zero transactions across more than a decade of market cycles, protocol upgrades, and the entire DeFi summer. Until today.
The timing is notable. ETH is trading around $1,955 as of this writing, down more than 50% from its October 2025 highs above $4,000. For an ICO participant who paid $0.31 per token, even today's depressed price represents a return exceeding 6,300x on their original investment.
A Pattern That Started Slowly and Is Now Accelerating
This is not an isolated event. Since mid-2025, at least six Ethereum ICO-era wallets have reactivated after extended periods of dormancy, collectively moving hundreds of millions of dollars in ETH. The pace is picking up.
In August 2025, a modest ICO participant who purchased just 158 ETH for $49 sent a 0.001 ETH test transaction, their first on-chain activity in a decade. In September, a far larger whale holding 1 million ETH (received across three ICO installments totaling $310,000) moved 150,000 tokens worth roughly $390 million to a new wallet for staking. October brought yet another awakening when a wallet holding 20,000 ETH broke eight years of inactivity by sending 1,500 tokens to Kraken, their original $6,000 ICO investment now worth over $78 million.
Then in December 2025, two more wallets stirred. A whale holding 40,000 ETH staked their entire $120 million position rather than selling, a move that reassured markets. Days later, a smaller wallet that had turned $263 into $2.82 million sent 1 ETH to Coinbase after 10.4 years of dormancy, the classic test transaction that typically precedes a larger move.
Now, in February 2026, the trend continues with this latest 10.6-year awakening.
Why the Genesis Generation Is Moving Now
The simultaneous activation of wallets that sat dormant through ETH at $1,400 in 2018, $4,800 in 2021, and $4,000+ in late 2025 raises an obvious question: why now?
Several forces are converging. First, Ethereum's staking ecosystem has matured. When the Beacon Chain launched in December 2020, staking was a one-way street with no withdrawals. The Shanghai upgrade in April 2023 changed that, and by 2025 the staking infrastructure was battle-tested. For ICO holders who never wanted to sell but also never wanted to leave returns on the table, staking now offers a way to generate yield without liquidating.
Second, ETH's prolonged price decline may be triggering a psychological threshold. After peaking above $4,000 in October 2025, ETH has dropped below $2,000 for the first time since early 2024. Some ICO holders may be concluding that the risk/reward of continued dormancy no longer justifies inaction. Even at $1,955, a 6,300x return is generational wealth for anyone who put in more than a few hundred dollars.
Third, security concerns are likely playing a role. Wallets using legacy key formats or sitting on addresses that have never interacted with modern smart contracts face increasing operational risk. Moving funds to a fresh wallet with updated security is prudent housekeeping, regardless of market conditions.
The Staking vs. Selling Split
The ICO wallets that have reactivated are not behaving uniformly. Some are staking, some are sending to exchanges, and some are just running test transactions, possibly preparing for either move.
The 40,000 ETH whale from December chose staking, a decision that markets interpreted as bullish long-term conviction. The 20,000 ETH holder from October sent 1,500 tokens to Kraken, suggesting at least partial liquidation. The 850 ETH holder sent a test transaction to Coinbase, an exchange, not a staking contract.
This split matters for ETH's supply dynamics. Staked ETH is locked (temporarily, at minimum) and reduces circulating supply. Exchange deposits typically signal intent to sell. As more ICO wallets activate, the ratio of staking to selling will influence ETH's price trajectory during an already fragile market.
Santiment's age-consumed metric, which tracks the movement of long-dormant tokens, showed two of the most significant spikes in long-term holder activity in September 2025. If the current pace continues through Q1 2026, the data could signal a structural shift in Ethereum's holder base.
What This Means for ETH Holders and Crypto Card Users
For everyday ETH holders, the movement of ICO wallets is a double-edged signal. On one hand, it introduces potential sell pressure from holders sitting on thousands-of-percent gains. On the other hand, the fact that many are choosing to stake rather than dump suggests that even the earliest believers see more upside ahead.
For users who hold ETH in self-custody wallets tied to crypto card products, the price impact of large dormant wallet movements is direct. Cards from providers like ether.fi and MetaMask allow spending directly from ETH balances. A sudden influx of sell pressure from ICO wallets could further depress the purchasing power of those balances.
The broader lesson is about dormant supply risk. Ethereum's total supply includes an estimated 7-8 million ETH that was distributed during the ICO and has never moved. Not all of it is recoverable (lost keys, deceased holders), but the wallets that are waking up prove that a meaningful portion is still accessible. Every activation removes a small piece of the "permanently dormant" assumption that some supply models rely on.
The Bigger Picture for Ethereum's Next Decade
Ethereum's ICO raised approximately $18 million in the summer of 2014, distributing roughly 60 million ETH to early backers. Twelve years later, those tokens are worth tens of billions of dollars at current prices. The wallets waking up now represent the tail end of a distribution that shaped the entire crypto industry.
What makes 2025-2026 different from previous dormant wallet events is the frequency. Isolated awakenings happened sporadically in 2022 and 2023. The current wave, with multiple activations per quarter, suggests something systemic is driving ICO holders to act.
Whether it is profit-taking during a downturn, security upgrades, estate planning, or the maturation of Ethereum's staking yields, the genesis generation is making its presence felt on chain. For a network that was built to be trustless and permissionless, there is something poetic about wallets that predate every DeFi protocol, every NFT collection, and every Layer 2 chain suddenly deciding that 2026 is the year to rejoin the conversation.
FAQ
How many Ethereum ICO wallets have reactivated recently? At least six ICO-era wallets have broken extended dormancy periods since mid-2025, with movement sizes ranging from a 0.001 ETH test transaction to 150,000 ETH ($390 million). The pace appears to be accelerating into 2026.
What is the typical pattern when a dormant wallet wakes up? Most dormant wallets begin with a small test transaction (0.001 to 5 ETH) sent to either a fresh address or an exchange. This confirms that the owner still controls the private keys. A larger transfer usually follows within days or weeks.
Does dormant wallet movement always mean selling? No. Several recent ICO wallet activations have resulted in staking rather than exchange deposits. The 40,000 ETH whale from December 2025 staked their entire position. However, transfers to exchanges like Kraken or Coinbase generally indicate at least partial intent to sell.
How much ETH from the ICO has never moved? Estimates suggest 7-8 million ETH distributed during the 2014 ICO has never been transacted. Some of this is permanently lost due to misplaced keys, but recent awakenings show that a meaningful portion remains accessible.
Overview
An Ethereum ICO wallet has reactivated after 10.6 years of dormancy, marking the longest known hibernation for a genesis-era participant. This event is part of an accelerating trend: at least six ICO wallets have broken extended silence since mid-2025, collectively moving hundreds of millions in ETH. The reactivations split between staking (bullish long-term signal) and exchange deposits (potential sell pressure), adding a new variable to ETH's supply dynamics during a period when the token has already fallen below $2,000. For ETH holders and crypto card users who spend from ETH balances, these movements represent both a validation of Ethereum's lasting value and a reminder that dormant supply can become active at any time.
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