A Bitcoin whale has transferred 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $536.5 million from a Coinbase cold storage wallet after a dormancy period of five and a half years.
Details of the Transfer
On June 11, the Bitcoin address “1ABww1…mCSKq” received the 8,000 BTC stash at block 847,490, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The entire amount was then transferred to the Binance deposit address “15u4H…rMsLa” exactly one block and 11 minutes later. Notably, no test transactions were made before these transfers.
Background of the Dormant Wallet
The Coinbase cold-storage wallet initially received the 8,000 Bitcoin on December 5, 2018, through dozens of transfers, mostly in batches of 200 BTC. The acquisition price at the time was $3,750 per BTC, marking a nearly 1,700% increase in value at the time of the recent transfer.
Implications of the Transfer
Dormant addresses with large holdings suddenly becoming active can suggest potential selling, especially if the funds are moved to an exchange deposit address like Binance. While it is unclear if the Bitcoin wallet owner cashed out, the significant transfer raises speculation.
Recent Activity of Other Dormant Wallets
This whale is not the only dormant wallet to have moved significant amounts recently. On May 12, two linked Bitcoin wallets transferred a combined 1,000 Bitcoin, worth $61 million at the time. A week prior, a Satoshi Nakamoto-era Bitcoin wallet transferred 687 Bitcoin, worth nearly $44 million, to two separate addresses.
Long-Term Dormant Wallets
According to an April 24 report by Chainalysis and Fortune, nearly 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have remained dormant for over a decade, excluding Nakamoto’s wallet. These dormant addresses hold approximately $121 billion worth of Bitcoin at current prices. However, many of these wallets’ owners have lost or forgotten their seed phrases, making retrieval of these funds uncertain.
Market Sentiment and Bitcoin Price Movement
Bitcoin recently experienced a price slump, falling 7.5% from a local high of $71,650 on June 7 to $66,250 on June 11. Despite this drop, the crypto market sentiment, tracked by the Fear & Greed Index, remains in the “Greed” zone with a score of 74 out of 100.
