A whale ETH wallet address that had been inactive for 9 years has unexpectedly returned to the market, transferring 50,000 ETH (equivalent to approximately $145 million) to the Gemini exchange in just the past 12 hours, according to on-chain data tracked by analysts.
This move immediately attracted attention from the community, as transactions from Ethereum's "Satoshi-era" wallets are often XEM as sensitive signals about market sentiment, especially when assets are transferred directly to exchanges.
Profits increased tenfold in nearly a decade.
According to historical data, the aforementioned address withdrew a total of 135,000 ETH from Bitfinex approximately 9 years ago, when the price of ETH was only around $90/ ETH. At that time, the total value of this ETH was only about $12.17 million.
Compared to the current price, ETH has increased more than 32 times since whales began accumulating it. The 50,000 ETH recently transferred to Gemini alone are now worth approximately $145 million.
Still holding a huge amount of ETH
Notably, after the aforementioned transaction, this whale's wallet still holds approximately 85,000 ETH, equivalent to about $244 million at current prices. This suggests that this was not a complete "Dump ," but more likely part of an asset management strategy or partial profit-taking.
Currently, there are no on-chain indications that the ETH deposited on Gemini has been sold, however, the transfer to an exchange is often interpreted by the market as preparation for liquidation.
The whales are waking up – what should the market pay attention to?
Historically, periods when long-term ETH or BTC whales become active again often coincide with key phases of the market cycle, such as:
- Local peak or distribution phase
- Restructuring the portfolio of long-term investors.
- Prepare for OTC, lending, or hedging strategies.
