Bitcoin whale moved $468 million in assets after 14 years of silence

On July 24, Whale Alert analysts reported the awakening of the so-called “sleeping whale” – an address that has not made transactions since 2011. From it, 3,962 BTC were transferred to a new wallet, which is equivalent to $468 million at the current exchange rate. The coins were bought more than 14 years ago at $0.393 each, i.e. for only $1453.

Users on social networks suggested that the owner could have transferred the funds to a more secure address. Some even suggested that Satoshi Nakamoto himself was behind the transaction, but there is no evidence of this. The identity of the wallet owner remains unknown.

In addition to bitcoin, two large transactions were recorded on the Ethereum network on the same day. One wallet sent 31,168 ETH (approximately $113 million) to Coinbase Institutional, while the other sent 27,090 ETH ($98 million) to an address associated with market maker Cumberland.

Earlier, on July 17, another 2011 bitcoin whale activated its assets: it moved about 80,000 BTC to eight new addresses. Analysts at the time linked the possible action to preparations for a sale via Galaxy Digital, one of the largest OTC services.

Such moves attract a lot of attention, as owners of old wallets have significant volumes and can potentially affect the market in case of sales. However, in most cases such transactions remain without subsequent movements on exchanges.