Crypto Whales at Play? Dormant $2 Billion in Bitcoin Shift During Price Correction | Cryptoglobe
A whopping $2 billion worth of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin ($BTC) have recently started moving across several wallet addresses that seemingly belong to a single entity. The funds had been dormant since 2019, having only moved in 2013 before that.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the BTC that has recently started being moved again has historically been moved at the same times and dates, despite being spread across a number of addresses.
$2 BILLION of dormant Bitcoin moved just before US market open today, across several linked addresses.
The BTC had moved once in 2019, and before that had been dormant since 2013. pic.twitter.com/xD4frjzQuP
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) January 16, 2024
Per the firm, the funds were consolidated from 49 different Bitcoin addresses and condensed into just five addresses, with each now holding between 8,000 BTC and 12,000 BTC, between $380 million and $480 million.
If the funds do belong to a single entity, it’s likely that they’ve been spread across a larger number of Bitcoin addresses as it aims to secure its funds by spreading them out and keep them in cold storage.
The $2 billion in Bitcoin were moved at a time in which the price of the flagship cryptocurrency is enduring a correction, after surging around 160% over the past year over expectations that the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US would bring in additional demand from both institutional and retail investors.
A spot Bitcoin ETF allows investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency through a regulated product, without having to manage the private keys to a cryptocurrency wallet.
The movement also comes at a time in which Bitcoin miner reserves have plunged to their lowest level since July 2021, to now stand at 1.83 million BTC after dropping by around 22,800 BTC over the past year. The value of these reserves is still at $78 billion.
Notably the funds are also moving shortly after the Bitcoin network saw its largest transaction of the year so far, with a BTC whale moving a staggering $665 million worth of the cryptocurrency in a single transaction.
Featured image via Pixabay.
