ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees denies buying $56 million in ether flagged by onchain analysts

Onchain analysts initially linked a series of large ether purchases to ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees, though he has publicly denied that the wallets belong to him.

Citing Arkham's onchain data, Lookonchain reported that Voorhees spent 49.08 million USDT to buy 23,393 ETH through two separate wallets on Sunday. The analytics firm noted that Voorhees had sold 12,886 ETH a year earlier when it was trading at $3,324.  

Voorhees later disputed the claim on social media, saying the wallets involved were "not me."

Since the Lookonchain report, one of the wallets — 0x3e6…Ef2f7 — traded additional millions of USDT for ETH. The total ETH purchased by the two wallets now stands at 24,968 ETH, valued at $56.5 million.

Arkham data shows that "0x3e6…Ef2f7" still holds 4.44 million USDT and 8.64 million AETHUSDT (Aave Ethereum USDT). The other wallet, "0x431…10c91," has depleted its USDT holdings to purchase ETH.

Earlier in the week, Voorhees also reportedly purchased tokenized gold cryptocurrencies XAUT and PAXG worth $23.7 million at the time. The Block has reached out to Voorhees to confirm the transactions.

Voorhee's reported return to Ethereum after a one-year break may be part of a greater wave of institutional investors showing long-term conviction in the cryptocurrency, as reflected in rising inflows into spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds. The ETFs posted $160.8 million worth of net inflows last week. 

Lookonchain also reported earlier today that Billy Luedtke, an early Ethereum user and CEO of Intuition Protocol, bought 7,769 ETH on Sunday. 

Ethereum is trading at $2,265, up 7.15% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block's Ethereum price page.

Updated March 17, 2026: Erik Voorhees later said the wallets involved in the $56 million ether purchase are not his. This article and headline has been updated to reflect that.