Long-Dormant Bitcoin Holder Activates $188M After 7-Year Silence
After remaining inactive for seven years, a major Bitcoin holder has moved BTC valued at $188 million, contributing to an increasing trend of large-scale transfers flowing into crypto exchanges.
An address that hadn't shown any activity since Bitcoin was valued near $6,500 has recently moved $188 million worth of its BTC holdings, marking its initial onchain activity in a span of seven years.
Given that the leading digital currency is currently valued at approximately $64,000 per unit, the major holder moved 2,931 Bitcoin (BTC) from the wallet identified as '356my' to the address 'bc1qn' this past Sunday, based on information from Arkham, a blockchain data platform.
Based on analysis from Onchain Lens, a blockchain analytics platform, the major holder appears to be sitting on gains approaching ten times the original value of these long-untouched holdings.
This transfer occurs at a time when large-scale transfers — defined as those exceeding $10 million according to Coinglass — represent the bulk of Bitcoin being moved to cryptocurrency exchanges. When substantial amounts are transferred to exchanges by major holders, it frequently signals upcoming sales, potentially creating downward pressure on Bitcoin's market value.
Fast becoming year of the whale
Major holders have been responsible for the majority of Bitcoin deposits flowing into cryptocurrency exchanges since the year began.
Currently, approximately 99% of BTC sent to exchanges originates from the 10 largest single transfers, based on CryptoQuant's chart that monitors the ratio of large holder transfers to exchanges, which measured 0.99 at the time of publication.
An elevated exchange ratio indicates that major holders are responsible for an outsized portion of incoming flows, which represents a "historically bearish signal" since these large-volume deposits tend to precede substantial selling activity rather than typical retail transactions, the analytics platform notes.
These transfers by major holders could compound the ongoing Bitcoin selling pressure originating from holders of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs trading in the United States recorded $197 million in net weekly inflows through Friday, however they experienced $4.51 billion in net outflows throughout June, representing their most severe monthly performance to date, based on data from Farside Investors.