200k Ethereum genesis whale awakens: $11.37m sent to Kraken

A whale who received 200,000 ETH during Ethereum’s 2015 genesis block has moved closer to completing their market exit, transferring 3,370 ETH (valued at $11.37 million) to Kraken. 

According to data shared by crypto analyst EmberCN, the whale transferred 48,687 Ethereum (ETH) to Kraken throughout 2024. The movement was worth approximately $171.78 million at an average transfer price of $3,528.

With only 7,594 ETH ($25.72 million) remaining in their wallet, the whale appears likely to complete their exit within one to two more sales.

Etherscan data reveals a consistent pattern of large transfers throughout 2024:

• Dec. 7: 4,453.3997 ETH
• Nov. 25: 5,597.12775107 ETH
• Nov. 13: 5,707.96432246 ETH
• July 30: 9,756.742 ETH

This selling activity comes as Ethereum trades between $3,328.47 and $3,410.29 in the past 24 hours, with the weekly range spanning from $3,239.45 to $3,512.12. The nature of these transfers suggests a carefully planned exit strategy from their genesis block allocation.

The movement of early Ethereum investors has become more noticeable recently. In a separate but notable development, another ICO participant woke up from a 9.4-year dormancy period on Dec. 27, depositing 631.1 ETH ($2.14 million) to Coinbase.

This particular wallet originally received 1,940 ETH during the genesis block, worth just $601 at the time, and still holds 1,309 ETH (approximately $4.4 million).

The movement comes as analysts have identified a bullish inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. 

If ETH showcases a breakout, the price could soon hit $7,300, according to analyst Crypto Patel.

In another analysis, analyst Juan Téllez shared expectations on when ETH will start outperforming BTC. Over the last two market cycles, ETH has only outperformed BTC during the expansion phase of the economic cycle, he says.

The analyst has identified signs of a potential reversal in the ETH/BTC ratio and suggested that the outperformance point hasn’t been reached yet.