A long-term Ethereum investor has captured widespread attention after selling 13,320 ETH for $36.34 million on Coinbase, realizing one of the most extraordinary profits in recent memory. Blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence traced the transfer, which took place approximately seven hours before the disclosure on X/Twitter by crypto analyst Ted (@TedPillows).
The scale of the gain
The investor reportedly purchased their Ethereum at $0.31 per token, a price last seen in 2015. With ETH changing hands at about $2,727 at the time of the sale, the result was a reported 8,750x gain on the position. The wallet had previously sent 15,000 ETH to Coinbase six months earlier—worth $30.97 million then—along with two smaller transfers, signaling a pattern of significant, staggered exits.
At an entry of $0.31 per ETH, the seller achieved a nearly 8,750-fold return, transforming an initial outlay of around $4,150 for 13,400 ETH into tens of millions of dollars.
A community commentator noted that across multiple sales, the wallet maintained an average realized price of $1,137 per ETH for about 170,000 tokens. This series of transactions appears to represent a near-complete liquidation of an original initial coin offering (ICO) allocation.
Mini dictionary: Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform that tracks wallet activities and large transactions for cryptocurrencies.
| ETH Bought Price (2015) | ETH Sale Price (2026) | Total ETH Sold | Total USD Value | Reported Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.31 | $2,727 | 13,320 | $36,340,000 | 8,750x |
Community observations and wallet behavior
Analysts and on-chain investigators closely monitored the technical aspects of the transaction. One observer highlighted that a small 10 ETH “test” was sent to Coinbase shortly before the main transaction, indicating caution and an attempt to verify the receiving address before the larger transfer occurred. Four additional addresses, closely resembling the main deposit address, were used as decoys, possibly as a privacy tactic.
Following the significant sale, the wallet retains 1,484 ETH, suggesting that while the primary holdings have been liquidated, some exposure remains. This pattern fits observed behavior from early adopters who manage exits carefully to minimize market impact and preserve privacy.
The use of multiple practice transfers and decoy addresses drew particular attention from blockchain analysts tracking the whale’s moves.
Holding conviction and timing of exit
Observers remarked on the extraordinary conviction required to hold Ethereum through multiple bull and bear market cycles. According to one community member, the seller “bought at $0.31 and never sold through all the volatility, holding like a time traveler.” This level of patience is rare even among early ICO participants.
Several voices in the crypto community commented on the exit point itself. One market participant emphasized that this sale coincided with the first weekly close of ETH above $2,700 in nine months, arguing that the timing demonstrated rational market awareness. In recent months, Ethereum’s social sentiment indicators have notably deteriorated, which may have contributed to the investor’s decision to exit at the next significant rally.
