Any individual or organization that acquired their Ethereum (ETH) holdings during the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and still holds the crypto would probably be in massive profits at this time. From the explanations given by Ripple CTO David Schwartz, he revealed he purchased 40,000 Ethereum for $12,400.
Schwartz Invested 20 BTC in Ethereum ICO
Ripple CTO revealed this in response to an XRP community member. The XRP member asked Schwartz to clarify his initial involvement with Ethereum before its public pre-ICO. ICO accounted for the major ways investors engage with new assets at the time.
According to Schwartz, his personal decision to participate in Ethereum ICO was influenced by his acquaintance with co-founder Vitalik Buterin. An invitation to participate in the ICO was extended to him by Buterin.
To support the event, Schwartz allegedly sent 20 Bitcoin (BTC) to Buterin, without requesting much details about the ICO. As returns for his investment, Ripple CLO mentioned that he received 40,000 Ethereum after the ICO. This investment event reportedly lasted 42 days between July and September 2014.
2,000 ETH was equivalent to 1 BTC at the time. The rate of ETH to BTC has increased significantly since then. Currently, 1 ETH is valued at about $2,900 while 1 BTC is worth about $60,500. Gas fees may impact the amount users pay eventually.
Schwartz’s Premature Disposal of ETH Holdings
The conversation started with Schwartz claiming that he sold off the 40,000 units of ETH assets at a unit price of $1. The fund generated was directed into installing solar panels for a house that he has since sold. If he had not sold, the Ethereum units would be worth almost $120 million today.
Ethereum’s market value currently sits at $2,907.38 even with a 4.01% price dip in the last 24 hours. Comparing Schwartz’s $1 price to this value, it can be inferred that Ethereum has seen more than a 290,638% surge in price since that time till now.