Ethereum News Today: Dormant Ethereum Coins Awaken, Reshaping Market Dynamics

Ethereum's price volatility in late October has drawn renewed attention to on-chain activity from long-term holders, with data indicating that early investors and large wallets are increasingly moving dormant coins. The cryptocurrency traded at $3,949.15 as of October 29, down 0.88% on the day, marking its largest decline since mid-October, according to Morningstar data. Over the past month, ETH has fallen 5.81%, though it remains up 18.07% year-to-date, the Morningstar piece noted. Analysts and on-chain observers are closely watching these movements, as they could signal shifting sentiment among influential market participants.

A key development is the resurgence of activity from "ICO-era" Ethereum holders, who received tokens during the 2014 initial coin offering. Santiment's age consumed metric, which tracks the volume of ETH moved multiplied by the time since their last transaction, spiked to 603 million in late September—the highest level outside of July's peak, according to Cointelegraph. This surge suggests that dormant coins are re-entering circulation, potentially influencing liquidity and price dynamics. For instance, a whale that received 20,000 ETH during the ICO recently moved 1,500 tokens to Kraken after eight years of inactivity, according to Nansen. The address's original $6,000 investment is now worth over $78 million, highlighting the potential impact of such movements.

Meanwhile, larger wallets—classified as "whales" and "sharks" holding 100–10,000 ETH—are showing mixed signals. Santiment reported that these accounts have repurchased roughly one-sixth of the coins they sold between October 5 and 16, signaling cautious optimism, according to a Yahoo Finance report. However, a prominent whale holding 97,750 ETH (worth $391 million) has sold 30,300 tokens since 2025 at an average price of $3,279, according to on-chain analyst Ai Auntie. This disciplined exit strategy underscores how large holders can shape market sentiment through gradual liquidity provision.

Price action remains constrained by critical resistance levels. ETH has struggled to break above $4,000, with volume surging 188% above the 24-hour average during a failed attempt to push through the level. Analyst Ali Martinez projects a long-term path to $10,000 but cautions that a pullback into 2026 may precede a multiyear rally. Similarly, The Long Investor set a $13,500 target by 2029, framing the move as a multiyear trajectory rather than a near-term breakout.

Institutional developments are also gaining traction. MegaETH, an Ethereum layer-2 project backed by co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joe Lubin, raised $450 million in an oversubscribed token sale, attracting 14,491 investors, according to a Coindesk report. The project aims to achieve 100,000 transactions per second, positioning itself as a high-speed solution for Ethereum's scalability challenges. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation launched a portal showcasing zero-knowledge privacy tech for real-world assets (RWAs) and restaking, emphasizing its dominance in tokenized finance and stablecoin markets, according to a CryptoNews report.

As the market digests these developments, the interplay between on-chain activity, institutional innovation, and macroeconomic factors will likely determine ETH's next move. While short-term volatility persists, the awakening of long-term holders and the influx of capital into Ethereum's ecosystem suggest a foundation for potential long-term growth.