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BTC $96,420 +2.34% ETH $3,280 +1.82% SOL $185.40 -0.92% BNB $642.50 +0.45% XRP $2.18 +3.12% DOGE $0.082 -1.50% ADA $1.05 +0.80% AVAX $42.10 +1.15%
07/06/2025

Bitcoin Whale Moves $8.6B After 14 Years Dormant — No Signs of Selling

In a move that sent shockwaves through the crypto community, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported a series of transactions transferring a total of 80,000 BTC (worth approximately $8.6 billion) from 8 whale wallets that had been inactive for over 14 years. However, on-chain data shows no indication that this BTC will be sold into the market. Wallet Upgrade, Not a Sell-Off? According to Arkham, the owners of the old "1-address" (legacy) wallets are upgrading to the Native SegWit format (bc1q) to improve security and reduce transaction fees. All BTC has been moved to the new wallets and has

Bitcoin Whale Moves $8.6B After 14 Years Dormant — No Signs of Selling

In a move that sent shockwaves through the crypto community, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported a series of transactions transferring a total of 80,000 BTC (worth approximately $8.6 billion) from 8 whale wallets that had been inactive for over 14 years. However, on-chain data shows no indication that this BTC will be sold into the market.

Wallet Upgrade, Not a Sell-Off?

According to Arkham, the owners of the old "1-address" (legacy) wallets are upgrading to the Native SegWit format (bc1q) to improve security and reduce transaction fees. All BTC has been moved to the new wallets and has shown no signs of further movement.

"We believe this is simply a wallet upgrade. There is no data suggesting this BTC will be sold," — Arkham shared on X (Twitter).

Notably, all 80,000 BTC were deposited into these wallets between April and May 2011 — when Bitcoin was trading at just around $0.10.

A Historic Hack?

While most observers lean toward a legitimate wallet migration, Conor Grogan, Director of Product at Coinbase, floated a shocking theory: if this were a hack, it could be the largest theft in human history. That said, Grogan was quick to stress this is purely "wild speculation."

Community Reaction

The crypto community has been captivated by the event. Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, former CEO of Binance, joked:

"I got into crypto way too late… Watching 2011 whales move BTC they bought at $0.10 really stings."

Some analysts at 10x Research also suggested that many early-era whales are quietly offloading to ETFs and corporate investment funds, though this particular transfer shows no clear signs of that.

Bottom line: Despite the enormous value and lengthy dormancy period making these transactions impossible to ignore, there is currently no evidence that the whale is dumping. Still, investors will be watching closely — because even a single sell move could shake the market.