An early Ethereum investor, holding a portfolio of 736,000 ETH valued at approximately $2.89 billion, has been linked to a controversial transaction ahead of a major project launch. According to on-chain data analysis, the investor deposited 500 million USDT into the new Layer 1 project Stable just before its pre-deposit event was publicly announced. The funds were reportedly borrowed from the Aave protocol by using 300,000 ETH as collateral.

Timeline Discrepancy Raises Questions

The controversy stems from the rapid sell-out of Stable’s initial pre-deposit event, which had an $825 million quota. The entire allocation was filled within seconds, leading to widespread community speculation about potential insider access. An examination of blockchain data appears to support these concerns.

The project’s official announcement was made at 9:10 (UTC+8). However, transaction records show that the first deposit occurred at 8:48 (UTC+8), a full 22 minutes before the public was notified. Further analysis indicates that over 70% of the total deposits were completed before the official announcement, effectively shutting out most participants.