OG Bitcoin Whale Moves 40,000 BTC Again

An address associated with the OG bitcoin whale, which became active after 14 years of dormancy, moved another 40,192 BTC (worth approximately $4.75 billion) to a new address early Thursday, according to on-chain data. The entity had previously transferred around 80,000 BTC ($9.5 billion) to eight new addresses on July 4, when it first became active since 2011. Recently, 40,010 BTC of this amount was sent to two addresses identified by the on-chain analytics platform Arkham as belonging to Galaxy Digital. Some of these funds appear to have been moved to the crypto exchange OKX and other unlabelled addresses, while the remaining amount stays with addresses linked to Galaxy Digital. Analyst Lookonchain suggested that the whale might be preparing to sell, especially considering bitcoin's recent rally, which saw it surpass $123,000. Currently, bitcoin trades at around $118,472, according to The Block’s price page. The latest transfer of 40,192 BTC likely came from funds still held by the OG whale after the Independence Day transfers, split equally among four addresses beginning with "bc1qn," "bc1qy," "bc1qm," and "1GcCK." On Thursday, at 1:33 a.m. UTC, these funds were consolidated into a single new address starting with "bc1qs," following smaller test transactions earlier in the week. While the new address has yet to move the funds, any future transactions to entities like Galaxy Digital could signify that the whale "may continue to sell," as noted by Lookonchain on social media. Who is the OG bitcoin whale? The initial transfers on July 4 sparked speculation about the identity behind the 80,000 BTC, with theories ranging from "Bitcoin Jesus" Roger Ver to the CIA and even Satoshi Nakamoto. However, it is likely that the whale is simply an early bitcoin miner from the 2011 era, according to Coinbase Director Conor Grogan, when the bitcoin block subsidy was 50 BTC, significantly higher than the current 3.125 BTC, faced with much less competition. To put the OG whale’s holdings in perspective, the total 80,000 BTC is far greater than the 50,000 BTC seized by the German government, which was sold off last summer, missing out on substantial gains since then. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet focused on delivering news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block, which operates independently to provide unbiased, timely information about the crypto industry.