It is very common for Blockchain watchers and companies to monitor the movement of Bitcoin whales. What is very strange is that 10,000 BTC inactive for more than 5 years are resuming activity in a bear market. Currently, BTC has lost almost 72% of its ATH and is struggling to regain $20K at the time of writing.
Movements of inactive wallets with more than 10,000 BTC are unusual, more so when the time range is more than 5 or 7 years old. Although there is not enough information to decipher which long-term investor is involved, it is certain that some plan is in mind.
The awakening of the dormant 10,000 BTC took place in two moves of 5,000 each and set off analysts’ alarm bells. The moves took place on August 28 and 29, when Bitcoin was struggling to hold the $20K it would later lose.
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Movement of 10,000 dormant BTC alarms analysts
On 28 August, analytics and tracking platform CryptoQuant announced the initial movement of 5,000 BTC. A day later, another firm, LookIntoBitcoin would announce another move of 5,000 BTC. The awakening of this wallet dormant for more than 7 years and the mobilisation of 10,000 BTC alarmed analysts.
Of course, it is too early to draw conclusions and too early to deduce what the motive is. It could be a simple movement and change of wallet by the owner. It is common in times of volatility for owners to seek refuge with different wallets to safeguard their BTC. While it may be foolish for some to move or risk liquidating their position when BTC is trading almost 72% below its ATH, it may be a strategy.
« It’s hard to say what impact it will have » was CryptoQuant’s statement. But what has become clear with these moves, which became an expected development, is that it is not a bullish signal.
The BTC whale trend
It has become a sport among BTC enthusiasts to watch the movements of wallets with more than 1000 BTC. The awakening of such long-term investors (4 years or more) is an interesting and speculation-generating development.
Lead blockchain data engineer at Coin Metrics, Antoine Le Calvez, suggested that the wallets may be related to the Kraken exchange. « From most likely to least likely, an old Kraken cold storage address, a Kraken OTC (over-the-counter) deal, a Kraken user, » Le Calvez commented to CoinDesk in an email. However, Kraken did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment following Le Calvez’s statements.
Other similar events have taken place this year, according to CryptoQuant. The firm reportedly reported that more than 10,000 BTC were moved inactive when the price was at $47,700 in March, 2800 BTC in May and more than 1,100 BTC in July.
All the hype and mobilisation of inactive BTC may correspond to statements by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Bitcoin has matured enough to become a risky asset influenced by macroeconomic policies. So Powell’s statements that tight monetary policies will continue seem to shake the market and the BTC whales.
