That may be a movement and change of wallet by the same user, as that usually happens in times of volatility. Antoine Le Calvez suggested this might be a former cold storage address, an OTC deal, or a user of Kraken.
It is common for blockchain observers and analytics firms to monitor the movement of the Bitcoin (BTC) whales. However, 10,000 BTC tokens inactive for over five years recently became active amid a bearish market. BTC has lost almost 72% of its all-time high and is struggling to recover the USD 20,000 level.
The movements of inactive wallets with over 10,000 BTC are unusual, especially after 5 to 7 years. Despite the lack of information to determine who that long-term investor is, he has a plan.
The long-dormant 10,000 BTC tokens moved twice by USD 5,000, causing alarm among analysts. The movements occurred on August 28th and 29th, when Bitcoin failed to hold onto the USD 20,000 level.
The Movement of 10,000 Long-Dormant BTC Tokens Alarms Analysts
The CryptoQuant monitoring and analytics platform announced the initial movement of 5,000 BTC. The following day, the firm LookIntoBitcoin reported another transfer of 5,000 BTC. The awakening of this wallet, dormant for over seven years, caused alarm among analysts.
Although it is too early to draw any conclusions, it may just be a movement and change of wallet by the owner. In times of volatility, owners usually seek refuge with different addresses to protect their BTC holdings. It makes no sense for some to risk liquidating their position when BTC trades by nearly 72% below its ATH, but it may be a strategy.
CryptoQuant stated it is hard to determine the impact it will have, but these expected movements are not a bullish sign.
The Trend in the Trend of the Bitcoin Whales
Enthusiasts have started to see the movements of wallets with over 1000 BTC as a sport. The awakening of long-term investors after four years is an attractive event, as it gives rise to speculation.
Antoine Le Calvez, the lead blockchain data engineer at Coin Metrics, suggested the wallets might relate to the Kraken exchange. He said it might be a former cold storage address, an over-the-counter (OTC) deal, or a user. However, Kraken did not respond to the remarks by Le Calvez.
According to CryptoQuant, similar events have occurred this year. They reported that over 10,000 inactive BTC moved in March, 2,800 BTC in May and over 1,100 BTC in July.
The entire stir about the movement of long-dormant BTC tokens may relate to the statements of Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman. Since Bitcoin is mature enough to become a risky asset influenced by macroeconomic policies that situation might shake the market and the BTC whales more.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 19,778 and has accumulated a 0.6% gain over the last week. While its daily trading volume is above USD 23.62 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 378.59 billion, according to CoinGecko.
By Alexander Salazar
