An Ethereum wallet that had been inactive since 2015 has sprung back to life, swiftly moving a total of 8,000 ETH within a span of two minutes . The wallet originally acquired the tokens during Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) in 2015, when the value of each ETH was a mere 31 cents .
Noteworthy Transaction Captures Attention of Blockchain Analytics Service
The dormant wallet received 8,000 ETH during the ICO and remained dormant until May 27, when its owner initiated a cautious transfer of 1 ETH to a new wallet address . Just a minute later, the remaining 7,999 ETH was also transferred to the new address . As of now, the value of the ETH stash stands at approximately $14 .7 million .
The transaction caught the attention of blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, which promptly alerted its 219,000 Twitter followers about the transfer .
Speculations and Similar Incidents of Dormant Wallet Activity
Community members speculated on the motive behind the sudden transfer, with one commenter suggesting that the owner had been released from jail and another making a humorous remark about transferring funds from an old Ledger wallet, alluding to the controversial update of the company’s recovery process .
This isn’t the only instance of a dormant ICO-era Ethereum wallet awakening recently . In April another wallet that held 2,365 ETH ($4 .5 million) made its first transaction after eight years of dormancy, transferring 2,360 ETH to a new address . Similarly, in March a different Ethereum wallet moved 10,226 ETH ($19 .6 million) to a new address following a period of five years of inactivity .
Notably, the newly created wallet address has minimal transaction history, with only one incoming transaction of 207 ETH ($380,000) recorded just moments before the recent transfer . Interestingly this additional ETH came from another wallet that had been completely inactive since June 12, 2017 .
As cryptocurrency dormant wallets can wake up for various reasons, some of which include hacking incidents or simply owners rediscovering and deciding to liquidate their holdings, such occurrences continue to capture attention within the crypto community .