Joseph Lubin, one of the founders of Ethereum, dumped an Ethereum wallet containing 80,001 ETH worth approximately $121.6 million. The move was made after more than three years of no activity on the wallet.
Loconchine The data revealed that the wallet with the address 0x1b3Cb81E51011b549d78bf720b0d924Ac763A7C2 contained a total balance of 243,300 Ethereum worth about $370 million after the sale was executed on June 6. However, the portfolio holding 75% of the portfolio balance suggests that it was only part of a partial repositioning strategy and not a complete exit.
Such a high-volume transaction in a free market would be considered a significant level of selling pressure especially given how fragile ether is at the moment.
Dormant ETH wallets spark controversy
Ether price It’s down about 24% over the past seven days. ETH is trading at $1,539 at press time. 24-hour trading volume rose 35% to $35.3 billion. The second largest cryptocurrency price has fallen 68% from its all-time high.
The coin has lost 47% since the beginning of the year. Technical analysts are observing a bearish pennant formation that could see ETH heading towards the $800 to $900 levels if certain support levels are broken. Confirmation of liquidation by the wallet of one of the Ethereum founders may increase the downward pressure and spread to related cryptocurrencies.
Large-scale transfers to exchanges typically cause fear of selling pressure. However, large wallet transfers cannot be considered evidence of intentions to sell coins. The destination of the 80,001 ETH has not yet been revealed.
This latest transaction linked to Lubin follows other notable dormant wallet reactivations reported in recent months. In January a The Ethereum whale has been dormant for nine years I moved 50,000 ETH worth $145 million to the Gemini exchange while keeping 85,000 ETH. However, there were dormant wallets that had very different reactions upon waking up.
Earlier this year, Loconchine It revealed that other dormant wallets — some of which have been dormant for between one and four years — were seen accumulating approximately 18,000 ETH during the downtrend and not selling. Meanwhile, another dormant wallet – which had been dormant for three years – collected 10,000 ETH and immediately sold it for $17.7 million in USDC. Such examples highlight why stillness alone is insufficient to predict market direction. This may not necessarily mean that the liquidation process is about to occur.
Lupine remains silent on the ETH move
However, there have been precedents of this phenomenon occurring previously among early Ethereum holders. One example where Old ICO Ethereum wallet It sent 10,000 Ethereum worth $22.88 million in April 2026, after 10 years of dormancy. There was no news about any deal concluded from it. Another report showed that ICO wallet worth 40,000 ETH He was awakened but was pinned down instead.
On June 5 (one day before the reported transfer), Lubin, who is also an Ethereum co-founder and CEO of blockchain software company ConsenSys, made a transfer. Share on X about a token sale called STRATO, which he referred to as a “strong start,” without mentioning his ETH transfers.
Consensys is a company that provides blockchain infrastructure solutions such as MetaMask, Infura, and Linea (layer 2 network). Lubin has been a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space since the launch of Ethereum in 2014, where he worked at Goldman Sachs and then moved to blockchain full-time.
The transfer takes place when cryptocurrency fluctuations become more important to the global economy. Ether-related exchange-traded products are available in the United States, Canada, and some countries in Europe. This means that any changes in the price of ETH will affect investments in securities, held in regulated portfolios owned by pensions, wealth management companies and individuals.
