Two Ethereum genesis wallets reactivate after 9 years, moving $2.9M in ETH

On Monday, two dormant Ethereum wallets dating back to the network’s genesis block became active for the first time in nearly a decade, transferring 1,140 ETH valued at approximately $2.9 million.

For exactly 3,630 days since July 30, 2015, the wallets “0x27” and “0x7f” remained inactive until the recent move.

Dormant wallets have been moving their assets recently

Ethereum launched in 2015 as a proof-of-work blockchain, offering block rewards like Bitcoin. In September 2022, it shifted to a proof-of-stake model through The Merge , a transition designed to lower the network’s energy consumption. 

Since 2015, the wallets have remained dormant, and ETH has surged by 89,450%, per TradingView’s analysis. One of the two wallets moved 900 ETH while the other 240 ETH, and according to blockchain sleuth Whale Alert, the 900 ETH was worth only $279 in 2015.

900 ETH moved after nearly a decade of dormancy. Source: Whale Alert

Lately, there’s been a spike in the number of reactivated wallets across the crypto market. Just last Friday, three Bitcoin wallets, inactive for over 14 years, moved billions of dollars in funds. Additionally, dormant since the early days of Bitcoin, some Satoshi-era wallets moved coins worth close to $44 million in 2024.

Meanwhile, a US government-owned wallet recently sent 86.56 ETH—worth approximately $200,000—to Coinbase Prime. The crypto assets had been confiscated in 2022 from Chase Senecal on suspicion of NFT fraud and hacking operations. Arkham Intelligence said the wallet initially conducted a $10 test transaction before moving the full amount to the exchange. 

The network’s Pectra upgrade drove a price surge in ETH

At press time, Ethereum remained relatively stable despite the two wallet transactions. Ethereum is currently trading at $2,542 . The ongoing network development heavily influenced the current token price. Ethereum developers advanced the network in May with the Pectra upgrade, adding support for smart accounts and scalability improvements. ETH rose from $1,812 to over $2,540 in the following weeks.

Ethereum founders Vitalik Buterin and Toni Wahrstätter have also proposed a few additional upgrades to the network. Most recently, Wahrstätter proposed to have a gas cap of 16.77M per transaction, stating that it would improve the network’s efficiency and robustness.

Bit Digital bought more Ethereum for its treasury

Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital also increased its Ethereum holdings to 100,603 ETH, over a 300% rise from its balance of 24,434 ETH at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The firm announced that it used the gains from a recent $172 million public offering and the sale of 280 BTC to support its ETH treasury strategy.

In addition to Bit Digital, firms such as SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and BitMine (BMNR) are also ramping up their ETH acquisitions. BitMine recently announced a $250 million offering aimed at purchasing Ethereum.

CF Benchmarks even projects that multiple other institutions will dive into ETH and SOL acquisitions. It predicted companies holding the two assets could increase tenfold in the next 12 months.

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