An ETH—EthereumETHPrice:Loading…24h Change:—Market Cap:— whale dating back to the 2015 ICO deposited 3,000 ETH worth approximately $8.79 million to Kraken on December 16, according to on-chain analytics account OnchainLens. The tracker attributed the wallet to controversial HEX founder Richard Heart, though this connection remains unverified by major blockchain intelligence firms.
What the On-Chain Data Shows
The wallet address flagged by OnchainLens has not been publicly tagged by Arkham Intelligence or Nansen as belonging to Heart. Evidence suggests the depositor may actually be a separate ETH ICO participant who received 254,900 ETH at $0.311 during Ethereum’s genesis block in 2015.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi, this whale has sold 9,910 ETH over the past three months at an average price of $3,313, netting approximately $32.83 million in profit. After the latest deposit, the wallet reportedly retains 37,070 ETH worth $94.25 million.
Richard Heart’s Complicated Legal Status
Richard Heart, real name Richard James Schueler, is the founder of HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX—projects that collectively raised over $1 billion through controversial “sacrifice” phases. He achieved a landmark legal victory on February 28, 2025, when a U.S. federal judge dismissed all SEC charges against him for lack of jurisdiction.
However, Heart remains a fugitive from European authorities. Interpol issued a Red Notice at Finland’s request in December 2024, with Finnish police alleging gross tax evasion involving “hundreds of millions of euros” and assault on a minor. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Massive Tornado Cash Movements
Separately from the Kraken deposit, wallets actually linked to Heart have routed over $500 million in ETH through privacy mixer Tornado Cash since October 2025. Arkham Intelligence data shows transfers including 153,241 ETH (~$600M) distributed to 22 new wallets and approximately 147,478 ETH (~$500M) sent through Tornado Cash in early November.
These movements represented roughly one-third of Tornado Cash’s total inflows at the time, according to MetaMask security researcher Taylor Monahan.
Market Context
Ethereum traded around $2,916-$2,953 on December 16, down 5.61% in 24 hours amid broader market weakness. Heart’s associated token HEX trades at approximately $0.0011, down roughly 98% from its all-time high of $0.5561.
The episode highlights the limitations of on-chain attribution—while blockchain data provides unprecedented visibility into whale movements, translating wallet addresses into named individuals requires verification that public analysis alone cannot provide.
Reported by BlokchainFeed's research team — crypto journalists and market analysts with 50+ years combined experience covering blockchain and digital assets.
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