An early Ethereum investor completed a staged exit that realized an estimated $274 million profit after years of accumulated exposure and gradual sell-offs.
The final tranche — about 26,000 ETH — was moved to centralized exchanges, led by Bitstamp, around January 11, 2026, and it added meaningful tradable liquidity at a moment when institutional demand looked more cautious.
This #EthereumOG, who bought 154,076 $ETH at $517 avg, is continuing to dump $ETH.
Over the past 2 days, he deposited another 40,251 $ETH($124M) into #Bitstamp and still holds 26,000 $ETH($80.15M).https://t.co/tb05GHIzaR pic.twitter.com/2ZxIw6AegC
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 10, 2026
How the position was built and unwound
The investor accumulated 154,076 ETH at an average cost of $517 per token and executed a patient, multi-year divestment, producing an overall return described as roughly a 344% gain on the original cost basis.
At the time of the final transfer, ETH was near $3,150 and the last 26,000 ETH tranche was valued at roughly $80.88 million, turning a concentrated holding into immediate exchange-available supply.
The exit unfolded as U.S. institutional sentiment softened, with spot Ethereum ETF outflows cited at about $93.8 million, a backdrop that increased market sensitivity to large exchange deposits.
What the transfer means for liquidity and short-term risk
Large, staged profit-taking can amplify volatility because moving tens of thousands of ETH onto centralized venues can increase sell-side supply precisely when inflows are weaker.
In practical terms, the market’s near-term resilience will hinge on whether ETF outflows stabilize and whether exchange liquidity absorbs the added supply, making flow data and order-book depth the key signals to monitor next.
