Ethereum ICO Whale Breaks Two-Year Dormancy, Moves 15,000 ETH to Coinbase

Ethereum (ETH) has continued to fluctuate in price, dipping by over 8.89% in the last seven days. Amid this volatility, an Ethereum whale has resurfaced from a two-year dormancy. As spotted by an on-chain analyst, “The Data Nerd,” this large holder has deposited 15,000 ETH on Coinbase.

Dormant Ethereum wallet activity sparks sell-off speculation

The movement of this massive amount of Ethereum, worth $30.97 million, to the cryptocurrency exchange has sparked interest. Notably, the whale bought the asset during Ethereum’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO). This means he bought ETH when the coin was extremely cheap.

According to The Data Nerd, this ICO participant bought about 17,400 ETH at an average price of $11.60. The whale accumulated the assets over a period of time using a different exchange at the time — Poloniex.

This implies that the 15,000 ETH, which the whale just deposited on Coinbase, cost him about $174,000 in 2014 when the purchases were made. If he decides to sell all the coins now deposited on Coinbase, this will fetch him a profit of over $30.70 million.

It is this knowledge that is fueling speculation that the whale is likely to sell off all 15,000 ETH on Coinbase. Additionally, the whale might not have resurfaced from dormancy if the intention was not to sell.

Meanwhile, this Ethereum ICO whale still has 14,800 ETH worth approximately $30.50 million in his wallet. This reveals that his total holdings were around 29,800 ETH, and he has decided to move slightly more than half to Coinbase for profit-taking after holding on to the assets all these years.

Ethereum’s price movement might have triggered the whale’s action as the leading altcoin has not shown signs of stability in 2026. Within the last 24 hours, Ethereum has fluctuated between a low of $2,023.27 and a daily high of $2,094.32.

As of this writing, Ethereum exchanges hands at $2,041.13, which reflects a 1.91% decline. However, trading volume has stayed green and up by 14.92% at $15.11 billion within the same 24-hour period, signaling continued interest from some investors.

Ethereum and institutional shift on market outlook

As U.Today reported over the weekend, Ethereum has seen increased growth as active addresses soared by 121%. 

Remarkably, the number of active addresses jumped from 381,202 on March 15, 2026, to 841,404 on March 19. The development suggests renewed engagement by market participants.

However, on the institutional front, asset management firm BlackRock closed the trading week with sales of 47,728 ETH. BlackRock made the transaction on Coinbase Prime.

These deposits on the exchange could affect Ethereum’s price outlook in the long run, a development that market observers are closely monitoring.