Bitcoin Dormant Wallet Moves $536M in BTC, Retail Demand at 5-Month Low

As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in on-chain data and market trends, I find the recent activity of the dormant Bitcoin whale intriguing. The sudden transfer of 8,000 BTC worth over half a billion dollars from a cold storage wallet that had been inactive for five years raises several questions. Although it’s unclear whether this Bitcoin holder is selling their assets or not, the significant increase in value since their acquisition in late 2018 is a strong indicator of potential profit-taking.


According to recent on-chain information, a previously inactive Bitcoin whale has become active once more, moving approximately 8,000 Bitcoins (equivalent to $536.5 million) from a cold storage wallet at Coinbase.

According to the information from blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence’s on-chain data, the Bitcoin address “1ABww1…mCSKq” obtained a sum of 8,000 Bitcoins in transaction at block 847,490 on June 11.

Subsequently, the identical Bitcoin wallet offloaded all its Bitcoins to the Binance withdrawal address “15u4H…rMsLa”. According to Arkham Intelligence’s records, there weren’t any trial runs or small transactions preceding these significant value transfers.

In December 2018, Coinbase’s cold-storage wallet held approximately 8,000 Bitcoins, obtained through transactions of 200 BTC each. If Bitcoin addresses that haven’t been used for a prolonged period suddenly become active again, particularly when they send funds to deposit addresses on exchanges, it could be a sign of impending sales.

A Bitcoin owner saw a substantial hike in the value of their transaction, which occurred recently and was originally bought for $3,750 on December 5, 2018. This increase represents a nearly 1,700% price jump from the acquisition cost.

Approximately 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses, excluding those associated with Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet, have been inactive for over a decade. The combined value of the Bitcoins held in these dormant addresses is approximately $121 billion based on current market prices.

Bitcoin Retail Demand Drops to 5-Month Low

The data from Bitcoin’s blockchain indicates that the typical request for Bitcoins from individual investors in the retail sector has reached its lowest point in the past five months, which was last observed in January. Notably, during the previous occasion when retail demand was this subdued, Bitcoin’s price experienced a significant surge of approximately 75% within the subsequent two months.

Based on the data shared by Axel Adler with me on June 10th, I’ve identified a significant decrease in monthly demand for Bitcoin among retail investors. Specifically, this group of investors, whose transfer volume does not exceed $10,000, has shown an average decline of approximately 17% over the past 30 days.

Adler observed a significant decline of approximately 18% around January, which was concurrent with Bitcoin’s price increase from $40,000 to an all-time high of $73,679 in mid-March. This price surge ensued soon after the U.S. granted approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs, triggering heightened demand and investment in the cryptocurrency.

The change in Bitcoin’s desired appeal stems from various reasons, including the impending release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI). For Bitcoin’s price to attain new heights, it is essential that the US CPI comes in below the 3.3% threshold.

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2024-06-12 11:37