Dormant Bitcoin Whale Awakens: $1.26 Billion Suddenly on the Move After Decade-Long Hibernation

A Bitcoin whale just shook the crypto markets—moving a staggering $1.26 billion after years of radio silence. Was it strategic timing or sheer boredom? Let’s dive in.

The Sleeping Giant Stirs

On-chain data reveals a long-dormant address—untouched since Bitcoin’s early days—suddenly springing to life. The transaction? A cool $1.26 billion in BTC. No warning, no leaks—just pure whale-sized power.

Market Ripples or Tsunami?

While the move doesn’t guarantee a sell-off, traders are already speculating. Is this a bullish signal (accumulation phase over?) or a bearish omen (profit-taking at all-time highs)? Either way, the whales control the tides—retail just swims in their wake.

Bonus Jab

Meanwhile, Wall Street still can’t decide if Bitcoin’s ‘digital gold’ or a ‘speculative asset’—classic hedge fund indecision. Maybe they’ll figure it out by the next halving.

Key Takeaways

• Three dormant bitcoin wallets transferred 10,603 BTC valued at $1.26 billion.
• The wallets had received bitcoin in December 2020 and had remained inactive until this week.
• Recent whale activity follows a similar large transfer earlier in July involving over 80,000 BTC.

Three wallet addresses believed to be tied to a single Bitcoin whale transferred 10,603 BTC—valued at approximately $1.26 billion—after remaining dormant for years, according to onchain analytics platform Lookonchain, which referenced Arkham Intelligence data.

Details of the whale movement

Lookonchain reported that all three addresses originally received their bitcoin on December 13, 2020, when the price of bitcoin hovered around $18,000.

While two of these wallets had not moved any funds since then, the third address sent 7 BTC across two transactions three years ago.

On Tuesday night, the three wallets each sent their entire bitcoin balances to separate, unmarked addresses, ending their long period of inactivity.

The recipients have not moved the funds since the transfers.

Possible links and prior whale activity

Although ownership of the wallets has not been definitively confirmed, Arkham Intelligence data indicates all three interacted with a common address, “1CMbV…mMUZL.”

Earlier in July, another Satoshi-era bitcoin whale moved over 80,000 BTC (about $9.5 billion) after being dormant since April 2011.

That whale reportedly transferred the funds to Galaxy Digital, raising speculation about potential over-the-counter sales.

Context: bitcoin market performance

These significant whale movements have coincided with an extended rally in bitcoin’s price.

The asset reached a high above $123,000 earlier in July and was trading NEAR $118,841 at the time of reporting, representing a 1.47% increase in the past 24 hours.