Bitcoin Whale Awakens After 12 Years 😴
A Bitcoin whale holding roughly $6.9 million worth of BTC has just woken up after a 12-year slumber, according to on-chain data. This mysterious investor first purchased 119 BTC for just $599 back in 2012, after which the wallet remained dormant until earlier today.
The whale’s movements were tracked by Whale Alert. They first transferred 76 BTC (worth around $4.3 million) at 7:11 am UTC. Shortly after, they moved the remaining 43 BTC (worth $2.6 million) at 8:55 a.m. UTC.
The wallet’s last activity was recorded on February 28, 2012, when it sent 2.98 BTC (worth approximately $15 at the time). The wallet’s owner’s identity and reason for the transfer are still unknown. However, on-chain data suggests that the individual is remerging the 119 BTC at a new wallet address.
This isn’t the first time a long-dormant Bitcoin whale has reawakened. Earlier this month, another whale stirred after 13 years of inactivity, moving $2.1 million in BTC.
Bitcoin Plunges Amidst Whale Activity
The recent activity of these large wallets has coincided with a drop in Bitcoin’s price. Today, Bitcoin plummeted to as low as $57,071, falling to levels not seen since early May. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has since slightly recovered above $57,585, but it’s still down 4.3% over the past 24 hours.
This sell-off comes after wallets belonging to the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox showed activity for the first time in a month. The German Federal Criminal Police Office also moved BTC worth about $75 million to exchanges, including Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Some traders are concerned about panic-selling after Bitcoin’s price fell below the crucial 200-day simple moving average (SMA), a key technical indicator used to evaluate long-term trends. However, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju believes this cycle is different because spot ETFs now account for over a quarter of total spot trading volumes. “New money this time is more mature than ever, and I believe there’s still much more mature money to come,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
It’s still too early to tell what impact these whale movements will have on the Bitcoin market. However, their actions are a reminder that the crypto market is constantly in flux, and even the most dormant investors can have a significant impact.
