Original crypto enthusiast awakens from 2011 slumber, reaping massive 322,000-fold profit from Bitcoin investment
Headline: Bitcoin Whale Wallet from 2011 Becomes Active After 14.5 Years, Moves $469 Million Worth of BTC
In a surprising turn of events, a Bitcoin whale wallet that had been dormant since 2011 has shown activity after 14.5 years. The wallet, which received 3,962 BTC in January 2011 when the price of Bitcoin was around $0.37, recently made a test transaction of 0.0018 BTC before completely emptying itself out.
The sudden movement of the long-held coins, now worth approximately $469 million, has raised questions about the reasons behind the activity. One possibility is that the wallet's owner recently regained access to the keys after losing or forgetting them, a common cause of prolonged dormancy in early Bitcoin wallets.
Another theory suggests that the investor is choosing to capitalize on the enormous returns since 2011, either by selling or moving the assets. Security concerns from potential dusting attacks, small transactions meant to trace ownership, might have also pressured the owner to move funds to a safer wallet.
Market speculation further suggests that the movement could influence short-term price volatility as traders watch whale activities for directional clues, especially since Bitcoin is consolidating around key technical price levels near $100,000-$120,000. However, historical precedents show that reactivations of such long-dormant wallets can cause short-term price dips followed by recoveries, but the exact market impact remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs have seen a significant inflow of 110,868 ($404 million) tokens in the same window. Fidelity's FBTC has led the outflows, with 1,919 BTC ($227 million) exiting the fund. The latest 7-day netflow for Bitcoin ETFs is positive, but the daily netflow has printed a negative value, with 751 BTC ($89 million) leaving the ETFs over the past day.
In the world of cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance has taken the lion's share of volume during the altcoin boom, with a significant increase in volume compared to other platforms. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $118,900, unchanged from one week ago.
On-chain sleuth Lookonchain has highlighted the wallet's activity and shared the latest inflow/outflow data for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in an X post. However, no information has been provided about a potential revote for WazirX users starting July 30.
For the initial investment of approximately $1,460, the wallet owner has made a humongous profit, practically all of which is now in circulation. The reasons for the wallet's dormancy and the exact market impact of the movement remain topics of interest and speculation in the cryptocurrency community.
The cryptocurrency whale's decision to move their $469 million worth of Bitcoin, which they initially invested in 2011 for around $1,460, has raised questions about whether they are choosing to capitalize on the enormous returns by selling or moving the assets, or if they've regained access to the keys after a long absence. Investors are also watching the movement closely as it could influence short-term price volatility in the finance market, especially since Bitcoin is consolidating around key technical levels.
