Dormant Bitcoin Wallet Awakens, Transfers $535M to Binance

An unknown entity recently reactivated a Bitcoin wallet that had been dormant for over five years, transferring Bitcoin worth approximately $535 million to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The transaction occurred on June 11, marking the end of a long period of inactivity since December 2018.

Blockchain analytics reveal that the whale, the owner of the wallet, originally purchased 8,000 BTC for just over $30 million. This investment has since grown significantly, with the whale realizing around $505 million in profits. The timing of the original purchases suggests that the whale capitalized on the 2018 Bitcoin price crash, acquiring Bitcoin at roughly $3,800 per coin.

The current trading price of Bitcoin stands at $69,240, despite a recent dip to $66,207 within the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. This price fluctuation coincides with a broader financial context where U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows of $200 million on the same day, ahead of anticipated economic reports and the FOMC meeting.

Speculation about the wallet’s origins suggests it could belong to a Bitcoin miner. This hypothesis aligns with recent trends where miners have increased the sale of their Bitcoin holdings, either to cover operational expenses or to capitalize on current market prices.

Julio Moreno, Head of Research at CryptoQuant, noted a significant shift in miner behavior. On Twitter, Moreno highlighted that the volume of Bitcoin sold by miners on June 11 was the highest since late March, primarily through Over-The-Counter (OTC) transactions rather than exchanges. Moreno’s observations were corroborated by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, who mentioned that Marathon Digital, the largest Bitcoin mining company, sold about 1,000 BTC to manage its expenses, boosting OTC desk volumes to a peak not seen since March.

Despite a challenging year, where Marathon Digital’s stock fell by 13.52%, the company experienced a slight recovery in its stock price, closing 1.9% higher on the day of the transaction.

This significant movement of Bitcoin underscores the ongoing dynamics and speculative interest within the cryptocurrency market, particularly surrounding large-scale transactions and their potential implications on both market conditions and individual entities like miners and large investors.