2011 Mega Whale Moves Again: $2.4B in Bitcoin Vanishes Into New Address

Fresh onchain data reveals that the mega whale behind the fourth of July’s $9.5 billion transfer of 80,000 BTC has peeled off 20,000 coins and sent them to a new, unidentified address.

Bitcoin Mega Whale Quiet for 10 Days—Then Drops 20,000 Coins Into Shadow Address

The shift was flagged by the tracking bot Whale Alert and Sani, the creator of timechainindex.com, who posted on X, “Our boy is moving again, starting with 10,000 BTC from the 80,000 BTC that were transferred 10 days ago.” He’s referring to the July 4 shuffle, when the whale moved 80,000 BTC in eight separate tranches of 10,000 BTC each.

All of the coins routed to fresh addresses had remained untouched—until today. That changed when 20,000 BTC, valued at $2.40 billion, was funneled into a wallet now labeled “bc1qmux.” The funds were sent from the wallets “bc1q84w” and “bc1qwq5.” The address “bc1q84w” has been on the receiving end of a flurry of OP_RETURN transactions, many of which contain strange or cryptic messages.

A number of these messages appear to be direct pleas to the wallet owner, with some openly asking for money. One reads, “With 10 BTC you could end my poverty,” while another implores, “A small amount for you is a lifesaving amount for me.” Some messages even take a bolder tone, with senders claiming to be the rightful owners of the wallet and insisting the funds should be returned.

While some have floated the unfounded idea that these movements stem from a so-called hack, the evidence points more toward a strategic consolidation. Since the July 4 transfers, only 20,000 BTC were moved on Monday, while the remaining 60,000 BTC remain untouched in the addresses they were first parked in. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

This 2011-era whale isn’t the largest or oldest to make such moves—these kinds of string-style transfers are rare, but not unheard of. In fact, Bitcoin.com News has tracked an even older 2010 whale over the past five years that’s shifted tens of thousands of BTC in a similar pattern. As for today’s action, it began with a few test transactions to the destination wallet before the full haul of 20,010.34 BTC landed.

Shortly after the 20,000 BTC shift, another old wallet stirred to life. A dormant bitcoin address created on Oct. 13, 2016, moved 214.54 BTC—worth roughly $25.7 million—for the first time in 3,196 days, or 8 years, 9 months, and 1 day.