$8.6B Bitcoin Whale Transfer Not Sign of Sell-Off

$8.6B Bitcoin Whale Transfer Unlikely to Trigger Sell-Off

Bitcoin whale, A recent transfer of $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin from eight dormant wallets has drawn major attention. However, blockchain analytics firm Arkham says there’s no sign of a sell-off.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Arkham noted that the 10,000 BTC moved from each wallet likely had a technical motive. These wallets had not been touched for over 14 years.

According to Arkham, the move may be part of a wallet upgrade — shifting funds from legacy “1-addresses” to modern Native SegWit “bc1q-addresses.” This upgrade can improve security and reduce transaction fees.

Address Upgrade May Explain Massive Bitcoin Movement

Arkham emphasized that the massive transfer does not indicate selling activity. All the funds now sit untouched in eight new wallets.

The firm also revealed the original deposits were made in April and May of 2011. Since then, the wallets had remained inactive — until now.

Meanwhile, 10x Research offered a different view. Although there’s no proof of an upcoming sale, the firm believes early Bitcoin holders may be slowly distributing their coins. According to them, much of this movement could be flowing into ETFs and corporate treasuries.

Speculation: Hack or Just a Whale Refreshing Wallets?

Some voices in the crypto space raised other concerns. Conor Grogan, head of product at Coinbase, speculated that a hack might have triggered the transfer.

“If true, this would be the largest heist in history,” Grogan posted, while admitting his theory is just speculation.

In contrast, others responded with humor. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance’s former CEO, joked that he entered crypto too late. He referenced how early whales casually moved BTC they acquired for around $0.10 each.

Elsewhere, prominent investor PlanB revealed earlier this year that he had moved his entire Bitcoin holdings into spot Bitcoin ETFs. “I guess I am not a maxi anymore,” he wrote in February, citing peace of mind from not managing wallet keys.