Whales and institutional investors are waiting for the Bitcoin (BTC) price to rise and next year’s halving. In the meantime, dormant wallet addresses become active again. This activity has created curiosity and speculation in the cryptocurrency community. An inactive whale account, untouched for over 11 years, initiated a transfer of approximately 1,037 BTC (equivalent to 31 million USD) to a new address on July 22, 2023. Here are the details…
Bitcoin whale awakens after 11 years
The dormant whales have moved billions worth of BTC and other crypto assets over the past few months. Onchain data platform WhaleAlert stated on July 22 that another BTC whale, which has been dormant for 11 years, has awakened. He revealed that he transferred all of 1,037.42 BTC ($37.8 million) to a new address “bc1qtl”. Surprisingly, a long-time inactive Bitcoin owner recently made an important transaction.
https://twitter.com/whale_alert/status/1682554412990955520
The mysterious wallet with the address ‘1MchKSZg4E…hp9UAiNZ96’ last operated on April 11, 2012, when it received 1,037.42 BTC from another address. At that time, the price of Bitcoin was only $4.92, so whale bought the coins for just over $5,000. So at present, its existence has experienced a 6,000-fold increase. Since then, the wallet owner has avoided touching his assets, even during the three major bull markets, when Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed to $1,000, $20,000, and $69,000 respectively.
Currently worth $31 million
The last transaction from this dormant wallet to the new address ‘bc1qtl80rm…ss8w8lfx0y’ involved the transfer of the entire balance of 1,037 BTC, currently worth approximately $31 million. Interestingly, the transferred coins were then split and distributed among various other wallets. The reason behind this sudden activation of the dormant wallet remains the subject of speculation. One possibility is that the whale has decided to liquidate its assets by cashing in on the substantial gains it has made over the past 11 years. Another explanation came from Colin Wu. Popular crypto journalist Colin Wu said:
These funds may have been held by hackers, and the funding sources can be traced back to 2021 and continued after 2015, when more than 40,000 BTC was distributed to hundreds of addresses.
According to Whale Alert, an address holding about 1,037 BTC ($31 million) was activated after 11 years of dormancy. The last active time was April 11, 2012, and it has been transferred to bc1qtl80rmdpe2v662v4552x55wh7wwmss8w8lfx0y.
These funds may be held by hackers, and their…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 22, 2023
What about BTC prospects?
Standard Chartered Bank predicts that Bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024. Analysts of the bank predict that Bitcoin hoarding by miners will increase. Famous author and finance educator Robert Kiyosaki, known for his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, predicts that Bitcoin will reach $120,000 in the near future. In fact, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, and Stock to Flow model creator PlanB have all predicted a massive rally in BTC price.
BTC price is up 0.5% in the last 24 hours and the price is currently trading at $29,945. The lowest and highest prices in 24 hours are $29,746 and $30,046, respectively. Also, the trading volume has dropped by 31 percent in the last 24 hours, indicating a waning interest among traders. However, Bitcoin is holding strongly near the $30,000 level. Several analysts are bullish on an impending breakout after the FOMC.
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