Cryptocurrency markets were ablaze with unusual on-chain activity on July 24th. A Bitcoin wallet, dormant for approximately 14.5 years and holding a total of 3,962 BTC, suddenly became active.
Traces of a miner from 2009?
In the transaction, first spotted by Whale Alert, approximately $468 million worth of BTC was removed from a long-dormant address. More intriguingly, the address's owner was not an ordinary investor but an early Bitcoin miner.
An analysis by on-chain analyst Ai (@ai_9684xtpa) revealed that all of the BTC held by this address originated from Coinbase transactions (mining rewards). In other words, the coins were created from scratch, mined directly from the Bitcoin network's first blocks. They were obtained directly through block generation, not through any exchange or third-party transfer. According to analysts, these BTC are assumed to have been acquired between 2009 and 2010. Their estimated cost is only $0.32. This means the miner in question has currently generated a 370,000-fold return on their investment.
The movement of large addresses can make investors nervous. Such transactions often have the potential to create "fud" (fear, uncertainty, doubt), that is, fear and uncertainty in the market. The movement of large amounts of BTC, in particular, can create selling expectations in some investors. However, in this case, the fact that the BTC were sent to another wallet rather than directly to an exchange suggests that there was no selling movement. One striking detail is that these 3,962 BTC were sent to another wallet rather than directly to a cryptocurrency exchange. This suggests that the action was not a direct sale, but rather a technical reason such as security, portfolio adjustment, or a cold wallet update.
Simultaneous altcoin liquidations in the market
During this whale movement, a general selling pressure was also noticeable in the cryptocurrency market. Altcoins, in particular, experienced significant losses. Bitcoin, on the other hand, fell by a limited 0.6% to $117,868. According to market data, a total of $837 million worth of positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours. The largest losses were in long positions on Ethereum ($168 million) and XRP ($92.7 million). Analysts believe that liquidation of leveraged trades and profit-taking were behind this wave.
It is currently known that the address in question only made one transfer and did not send BTC to any exchange. Therefore, it may be premature to expect a direct sell-off. However, such on-chain movements can cause temporary fluctuations in investor confidence in the market. Especially at a time when BTC is heading towards $120,000, such "whale movements" accelerate the market's pulse.
