By Tom Blitzer
Key Insights:
- Dormant BTC whales are rising with force, with activity observed in addresses that have been inactive for over a decade.
- Netizens have mixed reactions to the whale movements, with some growing alarmed while others accuse analysts of spreading FUD.
- Satoshi Stacker, a cryptocurrency influencer, suggests that whales may be shifting their BTC holdings into safer wallets to safeguard themselves after a wallet-draining operation.
The dormant BTC addresses that have remained inactive for over ten years have recently caught the attention of On-chain analysts at Lookonchain on April 25. As a result, the whale movements have elicited mixed reactions from netizens. Additionally, Satoshi Stacker, a well-known crypto influencer and YouTuber has put forth a potential explanation for the unusual activity.
Dormant BTC Whales Rise with Force
According to Lookonchain, there has been a recent surge in activity from BTC whales that have been dormant for an extended period. Three whales, in particular, have awoken and accumulated a total of 8,199 BTC (equivalent to $225 million) in just five days. Among the activated addresses were 1,000 BTC after 12 years, 1,128 BTC after 10.5 years, and 6,071 BTC after 9.3 years.
Some $BTC whales that have been dormant for many years have woken up recently.
3 whales with 8,199 $BTC ($225M) have woken up in just 5 days.
And the giant whale with 79,957 $BTC ($2.19B) has been dormant for 12 years, the price when he received $BTC was only $0.93. pic.twitter.com/2MZPDc8UuW
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 25, 2023
The recent observations made by Lookonchain have resulted in various opinions from netizens. While some expressed concern over the potential for BTC whales to dump their holdings and create a market crash, others criticized Lookonchain for allegedly spreading FUD. In addition, some suggested that the observed activity could be attributed to hackers who have gained access to old abandoned wallets.
The Connection Between BTC Whales and Wallet-Draining
Cryptocurrency expert Satoshi Stacker took to Twitter to offer an intriguing theory. Stacker believes that the recent movement of dormant BTC whales, which had not been active in over a decade, could be linked to a wallet-draining scam that surfaced in April. This scam resulted in the loss of thousands of ETH tokens, NFTs, and coins and has affected numerous chains since its inception in December 2022.
🧵 4/6
Now let's connect the dots. 🕵🏻♂️
Do you remember this tweet?
👇🏻https://t.co/U11im7shot— Satoshi Stacker (@StackerSatoshi) April 25, 2023
In Satoshi Stacker’s opinion, whales may be transferring their BTC holdings into more secure wallets as a precaution against wallet drainers who target original holders.
Lookonchain is cautioning its users to monitor a massive whale that has remained inactive for 12 years. This whale possesses nearly 80,000 BTC, equivalent to $2.19B. Interestingly, this address is associated with the notorious Mt. Gox hack.