Bitcoin Whale Moves $1.1 Billion BTC and Buys ETH

A Bitcoin whale, active after seven years of dormancy, has recently transferred another $1.1 billion in BTC on Friday and resumed its Ethereum purchases, according to on-chain data. This whale, which holds over $5 billion in BTC, has already acquired $2.5 billion worth of ETH. "A whale holding over $5 billion in BTC is currently purchasing ETH," Arkham Intelligence tweeted on Friday. "He just moved $1.1 billion in BTC to a new wallet and has begun buying ETH through Hyperunit/HL. This whale bought $2.5 billion worth of ETH last week and continues to buy." Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain is also monitoring this Bitcoin whale's activity. "The Bitcoin OG who bought 641,508 ETH ($2.94 billion) is back," they posted. "After a two-day pause in buying ETH, he deposited another 1,000 BTC ($108.27 million) into Hyperliquid, selling it for ETH." The cryptocurrency market seems to be affected by this migration of funds from BTC to ETH, with Bitcoin's price down 8% over the past month, while Ethereum has seen a 14% increase. Additionally, interest in spot Ethereum-based ETFs is on the rise, with U.S. ETH ETFs expected to post $4 billion in net inflows for August—a major milestone for the month. As of 12:35 p.m. ET, Bitcoin was priced at $108,702.57 and Ethereum at $4,341.20, according to prices from The Block. Last week, Lookonchain also noted that the whale wallet had moved some of its 100,784 BTC to acquire 62,914 ETH, establishing a long derivatives position of 135,265 ETH. Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, suggested that the wallets involved in the BTC to ETH swaps may not belong to just one entity. "It's more likely the work of multiple whales or an exchange with substantial holdings, rather than a single holder," Liu stated earlier this week. "Large transactions like this often involve institutional players or coordinated actions." Disclaimer: The Block is an independent outlet delivering news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures also invests in other crypto entities. The Block operates independently to provide objective and timely industry information. Here are our current financial disclosures.