Key Points
An Ethereum address that dates back to the time of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) has been reactivated. This comes as Ethereum’s price climbed past $3,200 for the first time since April 2022, marking a 10.28% rise over the past week.
The total cryptocurrency market cap is now close to reaching $2.20 trillion, following a series of unexpected events. One such event is the reactivation of a dormant pre-mined Ethereum address holding 238 ETH.
The Significance of Pre-mining
Pre-mining is a common practice in ICOs, used to reward early project investors, founders, and developers. According to Whale Alert, the said address has been activated after almost nine years of inactivity.
At the time of reporting, it is unclear whether the activation was for selling or moving the assets to a more secure wallet. If the owner chooses to sell, it is unlikely to significantly impact Ethereum’s price. Conversely, if the assets were simply moved, Ethereum’s bullish momentum may not be affected by this development.
In the meantime, other old wallets have also been observed to reactivate. The 90-day Dormant Circulation metric from Santiment suggests that several old wallets are reactivating their accounts.
This could mean that Ethereum may not face significant selling pressure. If this is the case, the bullish sentiment coupled with increased buying could drive the price up to $3,500. In an extremely bullish scenario, Ethereum could reach $4,000 in the coming weeks.
In 2023, it was reported that addresses holding small amounts of Ethereum liquidated their holdings. At that time, the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap was just over $2,000. However, recent data from Glassnode indicates that this trend has now reversed.
According to the on-chain analysis tool, the number of new Ethereum addresses has increased since January. As of January 30th, there were 96,272 new Ethereum addresses. Despite some fluctuations, the number now stands at 101,144. This increase suggests a strong retail demand for Ethereum, which could potentially improve the health of the project.
If this upward trend in new addresses continues, Ethereum’s chances of reaching $4,000 could improve. Conversely, if retail demand decreases, the price could either drop or plateau. However, widespread adoption of the Ethereum network could potentially drive a new All-Time High (ATH), which seems likely to occur later this year.
