Erik Voorhees, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry and former CEO of ShapeShift, has reportedly made a major return to the Ethereum market with a multimillion-dollar purchase.
According to blockchain analytics shared by Lookonchain and data from Arkham Intelligence, Voorhees spent about 49.08 million USDT to acquire 23,393 ETH through two separate wallets on Sunday. The purchases were made as Ethereum began to show renewed upward momentum.
Erik Voorhees(@ErikVoorhees), an early #Bitcoin supporter and founder of ShapeShift, is buying ETH like crazy after a one-year break!
He spent 49.08M $USDT to buy 23,393 $ETH at $2,098 through 2 wallets.
He still holds 35.25M $USDT and may buy more $ETH.… pic.twitter.com/18ifLc8Ghe
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 16, 2026
Erik Voorhees reportedly accumulates over $56 million in Ethereum
Shortly after the initial transactions were flagged, one of the wallets was identified as 0x3e6…Ef2f7 continued buying more Ether, swapping additional millions of USDT for the asset. The combined purchases from both wallets have now reached 24,968 ETH, valued at approximately $56.5 million at current prices.
Arkham’s on-chain data shows the same wallet still holds $4.44 million in USDT and $8.64 million worth of AETHUSDT, a token linked to the lending protocol Aave. Meanwhile, the second wallet, 0x431…10c91, reportedly used up all of its USDT holdings to accumulate ETH.
Interestingly, the move comes about a year after Voorhees sold 12,886 ETH when the asset was trading around $3,324, suggesting a strategic re-entry into the market after a prolonged pause.
Crypto whale activity and ETF inflows signal renewed confidence
Voorhees’ return to Ethereum may reflect a broader wave of renewed confidence among major investors in the cryptocurrency sector.
Last month, Lookonchain reported that Voorhees spent approximately $20.38 million in USDC to acquire 9,911 Ether at an average price of about $2,057 per coin. Earlier this week, he was also reported to have purchased roughly $23.7 million worth of tokenized gold assets, including Tether Gold and PAX Gold, highlighting a diversification strategy that combines digital assets with gold-backed tokens.
At the same time, other notable crypto participants appear to be increasing their exposure to Ether. Billy Luedtke, an early Ethereum adopter and the CEO of Intuition Protocol, reportedly purchased 7,769 ETH on Sunday, according to Lookonchain.
Institutional demand is also strengthening through traditional investment channels. Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) collectively recorded $160.8 million in net inflows last week, signalling rising interest from institutional investors seeking regulated exposure to the asset. The positive whale data contrasts with corporate struggles, such as crypto lender BlockFills filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 15.
According to the latest market data, Ethereum is trading around $2,265, up 7.15% over the past 24 hours.
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