Sunday night witnessed an unusual surge in bitcoin activity as a ‘sleeping bitcoin whale,’ dormant since 2017, reactivated and transferred a staggering 1,177.89 BTC, currently valued at over $30 million. The event occurred amid a period when bitcoin (BTC) is hovering around the $26K mark, adding intrigue to the sudden awakening of several bitcoin wallets that have remained inactive for years.
Btcparser.com, a blockchain analytics service, flagged seven transactions involving addresses that have been dormant since the end of July 2017. Two of these transactions involved the transfer of 200 BTC each, and they were initiated by the addresses “1HjQx” and “1LBpE.” Subsequently, five more transactions occurred, confirming at block height 805,100. These involved different addresses, with most transfers consisting of 200 BTC, one moving 100 BTC, and another shifting 77.89 BTC.
The original transactions from 2017 had been valued at roughly $3.38 million, given that a single BTC was worth $2,875 at the time. However, due to the appreciation in bitcoin’s value, the current worth of these assets has skyrocketed to $30.71 million.
Interestingly, these 2017 transactions scored a “moderate” 80 points on Blockchair’s 100-point privacy scale. The transactions were susceptible to certain privacy vulnerabilities, notably the repeated use of the same address in multiple inputs.
Adding to the enigma, the owner chose not to consolidate the 1,177.89 BTC into a single account but dispersed it across 17 distinct Bitcoin addresses. The reason behind the sudden reactivation of these dormant wallets and the transfer of such a hefty sum remains a mystery. This sudden, large-scale movement of ‘old money’ in the Bitcoin ecosystem has certainly caught the public’s attention, leaving both investors and analysts puzzled over the possible motives behind such a move.
