Dormant Ethereum address wakes up after 8.5 years and realizes $1.1 million in profit

In a surprising development, a dormant Ethereum (ETH) address that had been inactive for 8.5 years was revived, sending waves through the cryptocurrency community.

A mysterious address containing 492 ETH worth $1,139,052 was revealed in a tweet on Friday by popular cryptocurrency tracking service Whale Alert.

Since Ethereum was launched on July 30, 2015, coins have been stored safely. In particular, it appears that a test transaction of 0.5 ETH was initiated from that address, as seen on Etherscan on February 2, 2024. Afterwards, a transfer of 98 ETH was executed and the funds were redirected back to the same wallet.

The unexpected awakening of such a significant amount of Ethereum has raised numerous questions within the cryptocurrency community, leaving enthusiasts puzzled as to the motivation behind this sudden move.

Various theories flourish as to the owner’s intentions, with one line of thought suggesting that the address’s revival may come from the recovery of a lost or forgotten seed phrase.

Alternatively, some assume that long-term holders, also known as “hodlers,” may have decided to liquidate their holdings, lured by attractive profits.

Others have speculated that the awakening has been sparked by the Ethereum network’s upcoming upgrade and the potential approval of a spot ETH ETF, both of which are seen as potential catalysts for the cryptocurrency.

But Friday’s incident was not an isolated incident. On January 22, the platform reported another case where a dormant pre-mined address containing 133 ETH worth $329,492 became active after 8.5 years. Similarly, on January 14, another address containing 200 ETH worth $506,140 became active again after the same period of inactivity.

Notably, the biggest resurgence occurred on December 23, when Whale Alert reported the activation of a dormant pre-mined address containing 11,640 ETH. That equates to a jaw-dropping $26.5 million.

Amid these developments, Ethereum demonstrated resilience in its trading performance, maintaining nominal strength in the aftermath of a difficult January. Notably, ETH has recently experienced a bounce from its key support level around $2,200.

That means a potential surge could push it up to the January high of $2,700 and further to $3,400. Conversely, a downtrend could push the cryptocurrency price below $2,200, potentially to around $1,790.

ETH is trading at $2,320 at press time after surging 0.56% over the past 24 hours.