TLDR
- A dormant Bitcoin wallet, inactive for over 5 years, suddenly moved 8,000 BTC worth $536.5 million from a Coinbase cold storage wallet to a Binance deposit address.
- The Bitcoin wallet originally received the 8,000 BTC in late 2018 when Bitcoin was around $3,800, resulting in a nearly 1,700% profit when transferred recently.
- Bitcoin retail demand, defined as demand from investors with transfer volumes up to $10,000, has dropped to a 5-month low, similar to January when Bitcoin rallied 75% in the following two months.
- Chainalysis reports that nearly 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have remained dormant for over a decade, holding approximately $121 billion worth of Bitcoin at current prices.
- The recent transfer by the dormant Bitcoin whale coincided with a 7.5% drop in Bitcoin’s price from a local high of $71,650 on June 7 to $66,250 on June 11.
A recent event has caught the attention of analysts and enthusiasts alike. A Bitcoin wallet, dormant for over five and a half years, suddenly sprang to life, moving a staggering 8,000 BTC worth $536.5 million from a Coinbase cold storage wallet to a Binance deposit address.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the Bitcoin address “1ABww1…mCSKq” received the entire 8,000 BTC stash at block 847,490 on June 11, 2024, at 1:26 pm UTC.
Remarkably, the same wallet then proceeded to transfer all the Bitcoin to the Binance deposit address “15u4H…rMsLa” just one block and 11 minutes later, without conducting any test transactions beforehand.
The Coinbase cold-storage wallet had initially received the 8,000 Bitcoin over dozens of transfers on December 5, 2018, primarily in batches of 200 BTC.
At that time, Bitcoin was trading around $3,800, which means the recent transfer marked a nearly 1,700% increase in value for the holder.
While it remains uncertain whether the Bitcoin wallet owner cashed out or held onto their assets, sudden movements of dormant addresses with large holdings, particularly into exchange deposit addresses, often suggest potential selling activity.
Interestingly, this event coincided with a notable drop in Bitcoin retail demand. On-chain data provided by CryptoQuant creator Axel Adler indicates that the average monthly change in demand for Bitcoin among retail investors, defined as those with transfer volumes up to $10,000, has declined to a negative 17% over the past 30 days.
Adler noted a similar drop to negative 18% in January, which coincided with Bitcoin’s price surge from $40,000 to $70,000 following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
A report by Chainalysis and Fortune revealed that nearly 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have remained dormant for over a decade, excluding Nakamoto’s wallet.
These addresses hold approximately $121 billion worth of Bitcoin at current market prices, although many wallet owners may have lost or forgotten their seed phrases, making it challenging to access their funds.
The recent transfer by the dormant Bitcoin whale also occurred amid a price slump for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin suffered a 7.5% drop from a local high of $71,650 on June 7 to $66,250 on June 11, although the crypto market sentiment-tracking Fear & Greed Index remained in the “Greed” zone with a score of 74 out of 100.
