A Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale transferred 40,192 BTC worth $4.77 billion to Galaxy Digital, completing the movement of its entire 80,201 BTC stash.
This follows a similar 40,009 BTC transaction to Galaxy Digital four days earlier.
According to Onchain Lens, which first flagged the latest transfer, the full amount equals $9.6 billion at current market prices. This makes it one of the largest Bitcoin movements in recent years.
Blockchain data shows that at least 6,000 BTC from these transfers reached crypto exchanges Binance and Bybit. This activity was tracked by Nansen, a blockchain intelligence firm.
Whale’s Bitcoin Origins Date Back to 2011
On July 4, analytics platform Lookonchain spotted early signs of wallet movement. The whale had not made any known transfers in 14 years.
The Bitcoin originated from two large deposits: 20,000 BTC on April 2, 2011, and 60,009 BTC on May 4, 2021.
The transfers have sparked interest due to the long dormancy. Despite the 2021 deposit being more recent, the associated wallet addresses had been inactive since then.
Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Platform, spoke to Cointelegraph about the timing. He said:
“The whale may simply want stability for their family or plan to start a new venture. Maybe they are going to fund off-grid projects that align with the self-reliance vision of Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin’s price briefly passed $122,000 on Monday, pushing the total value of the whale’s holdings above $9.7 billion.
Galaxy Digital’s Role Raises Speculation
Some of the Bitcoin previously moved to Galaxy Digital ended up at exchanges, prompting questions about a potential sale.
However, Stadelmann noted that sending funds to a third party does not always mean a liquidation.
He said the wallet owner could be taking steps to secure the holdings more efficiently or shift to a multi-wallet structure.
In his words:
“The whale could be investing in a new Bitcoin venture, and leveraging their BTC to do so. They could also be using Galaxy as an intermediary to distribute BTC to smaller wallets.”
This approach aligns with the movement patterns noted in several transactions following the whale’s shift to Galaxy Digital.
On X, crypto trader Marty Party offered another interpretation.
“IMO: They bought all 80k, sold some and will hold some, and use the proceeds to benefit their businesses. Well played. The 80k is off the market.”
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Wallets Reach $131B
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price surge has pushed Satoshi Nakamoto into the 11th spot on Forbes’ richest billionaires list, based on wallet holdings.
Nakamoto is believed to control 1.096 million BTC spread across thousands of addresses.
At $120,000 per BTC, those wallets are worth over $131 billion.
This increase in valuation came as Bitcoin reached a new all-time high on Sunday. No movement has been reported from Nakamoto’s wallets.
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