A Bitcoin Whale Moves Millions After 10-Year Slumber

In a surprising move on Monday, a Bitcoin whale awoke from over a decade of dormancy to transfer their stack worth tens of millions of dollars. This came amidst a steady Bitcoin rally over the weekend that saw the cryptocurrency’s price surge above $64,000.

Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset by market cap, made a remarkable comeback after plunging 17% in April to a two-month low of around $57,600. According to CoinMarketCap data, BTC has surged 2.33% in the last 24 hours to trade at $65,400.

The whale in question transferred a stack of 687.33 BTC on May 6, worth approximately $43.94 million at the time of the transaction. Blockchain data firm Lookonchain reported the alert, noting that this wallet originally received the bitcoins on January 12, 2014, when 1 BTC was valued at just $917.

A wallet that has been dormant for 10.3 years transferred all 687.33 $BTC($43.94M) out 10 mins ago.

The whale received 687.33 $BTC($630K at that time) on Jan 12, 2014, when the price was $917.

Address: 15WZNLACuvcDrrBL2btDErJggnaMQtHh5G pic.twitter.com/tEPqM0CrrK

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 6, 2024

While the wallet’s owner’s identity remains unknown, so do their reasons for finally moving the long-dormant coins. This is not an isolated incident. Dormant Bitcoin wallets have been springing to life in recent months after years, and even decades, of inactivity.

Bitcoin Whale Dormant Moved $8B

On March 25, blockchain analytics firm Arkham reported that the 5th largest Bitcoin wallet suddenly transferred almost its entire balance of 94,500 BTC worth over $6 billion. Those coins had been untouched since the wallet received them back in 2019.

The 5th richest Bitcoin address just moved over $6 BILLION in BTC to three new addresses.

37X moved almost its ENTIRE BALANCE of 94.5K BTC ($6.05B) in the early hours of Saturday 23rd March, leaving only 1.4 BTC in the address.

The 94.5K BTC had not been moved since 37X… pic.twitter.com/mAjpg0oqnD

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) March 25, 2024

Even more remarkably, in January, Arkham noted that several linked addresses moved a combined $2 billion worth of long-dormant Bitcoin mere days after the first spot of Bitcoin ETFs launched in the U.S. Before this year’s transfer, someone had only moved that particular Bitcoin stash twice before – once in 2013 and again in 2019.

Furthermore, as the crypto market continues evolving, these movements of long-dormant coins underscore the growing participation from whales who have been hodling for years or even decades. The crypto space remains as fascinating as ever, with fortunes transferring at the click of a button.

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