2026-01-04 21:21:45

Since 2014, Ethereum has undergone an invisible battle of chip transfer. Over the past decade, the discourse power has been constantly changing hands—from the earliest ICO participants, to miners, and then to Wall Street institutions. When ETH surged past $3000 at the end of 2025, the sharp price increase we saw actually reflected the deep logic of chip centralization and institutionalization.

**The story of chips in the beginning (2014-2018)**

During the 2014 ICO, Ethereum raised $18 million at an average price of $0.3. It sounds quite democratic, but the internal distribution of chips was actually extremely uneven—just 100 addresses locked up 40% of the tokens, and some whale addresses held nearly a million ETH. This raised many questions at the time. Interestingly, from the launch of the mainnet in 2015 to 2018, about 41.7% of the pre-mined ETH was gradually dumped into exchanges. Chips flowed out of a few hands and scattered across the market. Although prices fluctuated wildly, this process paved the way for the subsequent ecosystem boom.

**The tug-of-war during the miner era (2015-2022)**

In the PoW era, miners accumulated approximately 49.1 million ETH through block rewards, and this new supply continued to dilute the weight of early chips. Meanwhile, the explosion of DeFi in 2020 attracted a large influx of ETH into various protocols. The power struggle during this stage became more complex—miners, DeFi participants, traders—all vying for discourse power.

ETH-2,79%

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NftBankruptcyClub

· 01-06 17:10

Really, watching the chips being gradually harvested, it feels like the original dream of decentralization is gone Miners made a killing in that wave, now it's the institutions' turn to harvest retail investors, a cyclical script Those who bought at $0.3 are already financially free, while us new retail investors are still chasing highs, hilarious Deep logic of centralization? Basically, it's big players accumulating chips while retail investors get caught in the trap When DeFi exploded, I also went all in, but now it all looks like a crisis The transfer of discourse power is a power game, always the wealthy who call the shots It's so ironic, the more decentralized it becomes, the more centralized it gets, an absolute contradiction

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SchrodingersPaper

· 01-06 11:36

Damn, 100 addresses locked 40%? Is this still called democratization? It made me laugh to death. Wait, you mentioned the deep logic of institutionalization, but I feel like it's just big players harvesting retail investors. From 0.3 to 3000, what have I missed in these ten years... My mindset is collapsing. The era of miners really can't go back; now Wall Street is manipulating ETH as if it's just playing with money. 41.7% invested in exchanges? That must be the source of my being trapped, damn it. Institutionalization = price rises, retail investors = always taking the fall, is it that simple? This article has made me see clearly that I am the one whose chips have been transferred.

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OneBlockAtATime

· 01-06 04:25

Basically, it's big fish eating small fish. The chip game has always been played this way. During the ICO period, $0.3 was truly amazing. Thinking about it now makes me want to smash my phone. Holding 40% of 100 addresses? If that happened now, they'd be criticized to death. The miner era was really the last carnival. Now that it's PoS, who still mines? Institutional entry is exactly like this; retail investors are just the bagholders. So ultimately, the $3000 ETH price is just a centralized price, after all.

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TokenRationEater

· 01-04 22:02

Early retail investors dumping the market is what created today's institutional wealth—ironic, isn't it?

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FlashLoanKing

· 01-04 21:51

The early batch bought at $0.3 now feels amazing, by the way, 100 addresses lock 40%, which shows the democracy of Web3 haha. Institutions just throw money in directly, retail investors are still studying candlestick charts. During the PoW era, miners were frantically dumping, now it's the big funds' turn to harvest, cycle of life, everyone. The 41.7% pre-mined tokens flowing out to exchanges is basically just an excuse for dumping. From ICOs to institutions, retail investors have never won. Miners accumulated 49.1 million coins and then dumped the market all at once, I don't believe your nonsense. DeFi exploded, attracting ETH in, but a few platforms ran away, and the chips are still concentrated in the hands of big players. These ten years have been nothing but a game for the rich, calling it a chip transfer battle sounds ridiculous. $3000 is just a new price level for institutions to cut leeks, don’t be fooled by the rise. Talking about the transfer of voting rights, fundamentally, it’s still who has more money who makes the rules, this hasn't changed.

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BlindBoxVictim

· 01-04 21:51

I wish I had known earlier not to put all my eggs in one basket. Now watching these institutions lift the market makes me uncomfortable. Back when it was $0.3, someone was already accumulating millions of coins. I should have realized this earlier. The era of miners was truly democratic. Now it's all Wall Street's game. Wait, why is ETH still being centralized? I thought it would become more and more decentralized. No wonder my holdings are always being dumped at high prices; turns out it's all a scheme. It's hilarious—talking about democratized fundraising sounds nice, but in reality, it's just paving the way for whales. From ICOs to now, it's been a complete power game. How can retail investors like us possibly win? Really, how powerful is that whale holding millions now? Over these ten years, I've only seen wealth become more concentrated. How can we ever return to the ideal of decentralization? Wait, hold on. When DeFi was booming, why didn't I jump on the bandwagon? I missed so many opportunities.

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RektCoaster

· 01-04 21:41

Basically, it's the story of big players harvesting retail investors, repeating periodically.

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CryptoComedian

· 01-04 21:39

Laughing and then crying, from retail investors to fish in the pond, the story of concentrated chips is just a cycle The dream of $0.3, the reality of $3000, how many people's tears are lost in between Miners smashing the market, institutions accumulating chips, these ten years have been an art show of boiling the leeks in warm water In the early days, 100 addresses locking 40%, hilarious—this called democratization? This called aristocratization When DeFi exploded, I was fully invested, now I’m still paying off debt, lacking the voice, but I have plenty of debt claims Chip transfer is a transfer of power, we can never catch up with that wave Watching ETH rise to 3000, my holdings are still in double digits, I really laughed tears out From ICO to institutions, every step is about cutting a new batch of leeks, the script is really well written

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MEVSandwich

· 01-04 21:38

The early buyers at $0.3 must be feeling so comfortable now, so jealous... Wait, 100 addresses lock 40%? Isn't this just cutting leeks under the guise of democratization? I missed the miner era, now all holdings are dominated by institutions. I really can't hold it anymore, with such concentrated chips, it will eventually be cut. After Wall Street came, ETH lost its meaning, it's no longer our coin. With so many changes in the right to speak, small retail investors are always the last to benefit... Are all the current buyers just providing a bailout for institutions?

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WalletWhisperer

· 01-04 21:36

In simple terms, the big players are getting bigger, and what are we retail investors waiting for? --- 100 addresses hold 40% of the chips? How dark is that? No wonder institutions are now calling the shots. --- Since the ICO, the reshuffling has never stopped. Those who entered early are laughing last. --- The era of miners was truly the last carnival; now it's all institutional games. --- 41.7% poured into exchanges? It seems the earliest investors have already escaped. --- The power has been shifting all along; we're always on the receiving end. --- The DeFi explosion indeed made things complicated. Whoever holds the tokens has the say. --- Does the $3000 reflect capital centralization? Do retail investors still have a chance? --- It feels like ETH's story is an evolution from democracy to oligarchy. --- With miners earning so many block rewards, it was truly the era of easy profits early on.

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