Ethereum Whales from ICO Era Awaken: $120 Million Gains and Institutional Buying

ICO Participant Awakens After Ten Years with Million-Dollar Gain

An Ethereum investor from the ICO era has resumed activity in his wallet after more than ten years of inactivity, causing a stir in the crypto community. According to on-chain data from Lookonchain, the address currently holds 40,000 ETH valued at $119.5 million ^[1].

The unknown investor had initially invested just $12,400 in 2014, representing a value increase of 9,639 percent ^[1]. A first test transaction of 5 ETH is now leading market observers to speculate whether a larger redistribution of holdings is imminent.

This is already the second case in a short time: Just on Friday, another ICO participant realized gains of $60 million ^[1]. The accumulation of these wallet activations from Ethereum's early phase suggests a coordinated movement by the "smart money" of the first hour.

Institutional Investors Capitalize on Bottom Formation for Entry

While the "old guard" moves its holdings, strengthened institutional interest is evident on the other side. Ethereum spot ETFs recorded their strongest inflows since October in the last week of November, totaling $312 million ^[1].

Particularly notable is the activity of Tom Lee's "Bitmine": On-chain data shows that the fund acquired an additional 16,693 ETH for approximately $50.1 million ^[1]. Professional investors are apparently deliberately using the bottom formation between $2,900 and $3,000 to establish Ethereum positions.

Strategy Emphasizes Flexibility for Bitcoin Purchases

Large investors remain active in the Bitcoin sector as well. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, underscores its position as the world's largest institutional Bitcoin holder. The company currently holds 649,870 BTC valued at approximately $59 billion ^[2].

Phong Le, a representative of the company, described capital markets as the "magic" that enables Strategy to continue its Bitcoin accumulation across multiple market cycles ^[2]. The company's balance sheet is structured to avoid liquidity stress and to maintain room for opportunistic issuances.

Financing is conducted through long-term convertible bonds with low near-term dilution risk. The first maturity date is not until December of this year, giving Strategy "considerable flexibility for opportunistic moves" ^[2].

Le argued that Strategy currently has more flexibility than at any other point in its history ^[2]. The company can raise additional equity in strong stock markets or resort to convertible bonds when interest rates and market conditions favor long-term issuances.

Market Recovery Following Volatile Phase

Strategy's MSTR stock had lost over 52 percent in value over the past six months ^[2]. However, the stock recovered 2.4 percent in the past week, in parallel with a Bitcoin price increase of 5 percent ^[2].

The company's Market Net Asset Value (MNAV), which represents the ratio of market capitalization to net inventory value of crypto holdings, recovered to 1.13 ^[2]. This indicates that the market continues to value the company's Bitcoin strategy at a premium despite recent volatility.