9 years 10,000 times return, exploring the journey of Ethereum ICO addresses
Tracking dormant addresses is a good practice, as their behavior may affect the price of $ETH.Author: 0xScope Labs
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
The Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014 marked the beginning of this revolutionary blockchain platform. Early believers received their share of ETH in the genesis block. Interestingly, some of these users' addresses have remained dormant since then, not moving their initially held ETH for 9 years, with a floating profit of 10,000 times. In this article, we will delve into their stories and provide you with some insights.
1. Dormant Ethereum ICO Addresses
Among the numerous addresses that received ETH during the ICO, a significant number have never moved their holdings. Currently, there are 678 addresses in this dormant category. These addresses collectively hold 1,529,755 ETH.
Why is tracking the behavior of these addresses important?
It shows the confidence of these early believers in $ETH and its future value growth.
Tracking dormant addresses is a good practice, as their behavior may impact the price of $ETH.
Notably, the top dormant address now holds 250,000 ETH. This entity repaid $75,250 in 2014, and that amount is now worth $460 million.
2. When Did Ethereum ICO Addresses First Transfer ETH?
By examining the year when addresses first transferred ETH, we can understand the activity patterns of ICO participants.
Most ICO participants transferred (possibly sold) their $ETH holdings before 2018 (when the price of Ethereum reached $1,300 at the beginning of that year). Specifically, 4,119 (46.66% of the total) Ethereum ICO addresses first transferred $ETH in 2016, 2,159 (24.46% of the total) first transferred $ETH in 2015, and 1,438 (16.29% of the total) first transferred $ETH in 2017.
3. Tracking the Remaining ETH Balances of ICO Addresses
Among the 8,891 addresses that received ETH in the genesis block, some still retain a significant amount of ETH. The current total balance of all ICO addresses is 1,847,631 ETH. This is equivalent to 3% of the initial ICO amount.
Several addresses hold large amounts of ETH. Among the top 10 addresses, 6 are dormant, and 3 have balances exceeding their ICO amounts. The second address purchased 560,000 ETH during the ICO and still holds 243,300 ETH.
4. Small Investments, Big Potential
A total of 1,157 (13%) addresses spent less than $30 to purchase fewer than 100 ETH during the ICO. They collectively received 53,850.53 ETH, worth about $100 million, averaging around $85,000 per address.
Among all these small investment addresses, 224 addresses remain dormant, holding a total of 9,674 ETH.
5. Recent Dormant Awakening Events
Occasionally, long-dormant addresses suddenly become active. Here are two notable dormant awakening events.
For example:
The first event involves the address 0x8b505E2871F7dEb7a63895208e8227dcAa1Bff05, which transferred 61,216 ETH to another address that deposited all funds into Kraken.
The second event involves an address transferring its held assets to Coinbase for Ethereum staking.
Conclusion
Over the past 9 years, the journey of Ethereum ICO addresses has been both inspiring and symbolic of early adopters' confidence in this transformative blockchain platform. Many of these early investors (678 addresses) have maintained their initial investments even amidst the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market.
While this is true, most ICO participants took action before the significant price surge of $ETH in 2018, which experienced peaks and troughs in valuation. However, the untouched wealth in some dormant accounts proves a lasting confidence in Ethereum's long-term potential. It will be interesting for anyone passionate about digital currency to watch what these early buyers will do next.
