An ancient Bitcoin whale has successfully liquidated their entire stash of 80,202 BTC after holding for 14 years, generating approximately $9.53 billion at an average selling price of $118,834.
Over the last three days, the whale operating from a Bitcoin address ending in “f4au0” has been systematically disposing of its cryptocurrency reserves.
Most notably, on July 15, intelligence data from Arkham, spotted by EmberCN, showed that a whale from the Satoshi era executed a transfer of 40,000 BTC, with 18,343 BTC valued at $2.172 billion being directed to Galaxy Digital, a platform that provides over-the-counter (OTC) Bitcoin trading services.
From $1.64 to $118K: The Ancient Bitcoin Whale 72,000X Return
Yesterday, the whale also moved an additional 40,192 BTC, worth $4.83 billion, routing these funds to Galaxy Digital.
The recent transaction has now completed the full liquidation of the 80,000+ Bitcoin holdings, which Arkham confirms have been entirely sent to exchanges.
When originally acquired fourteen years ago, these Bitcoins were valued at merely $132,000, equating to approximately $1.64 per coin. This investment has delivered the whale an extraordinary 72,000-fold return.
It’s worth noting that Bitcoin began with zero value when Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2009. The cryptocurrency’s price subsequently rose from its sustained $0.10 level to $0.20 on October 26, 2010.
Source: InvestopediaDuring 2011, BTC began climbing above $1, ultimately reaching a high of $29.60 on June 8, 2011.
The whale likely accumulated their Bitcoin position between February and April 2011.
This transaction exemplifies the effectiveness of the popular cryptocurrency strategy “HODL,” which advocates maintaining investment positions despite market volatility.
This contrasts sharply with the German Government, which many criticized for “paper handing” $3.51 billion after selling 54,000 BTC when Bitcoin traded around $58,000 in 2024.
Additionally, this isn’t the first instance of dormant Bitcoin whales becoming active, particularly during bullish market phases.
Last year at this time, a wallet connected to a Bitcoin miner who earned 50 BTC as a mining reward on July 14, 2010, just months following the Bitcoin network’s launch, also transferred their complete Bitcoin holdings to the Binance exchange.
The miner generated over $3 million in profits from coins that were previously worth fractions of a penny.
1.75M Satoshi-era Wallets Still Hold $121B in Bitcoin
A Fortune report indicates that approximately 1.75 million Bitcoin wallets have remained dormant for over ten years.
These wallets collectively contain 1,798,681 BTC, representing approximately $121 billion in value.
Source: FortuneNotably, the sudden reactivation of inactive wallets often generates speculation that Bitcoin whales may be preparing to liquidate substantial portions of their holdings, which can result in increased Bitcoin price volatility.
For instance, during the previous occasion when the “f4au0” Bitcoin whale disposed of their holdings, approximately $236 million was deposited directly to exchanges, including Binance and Bybit, indicating that portions of the position were likely being prepared for sale.
Currently, it appears the selling pressure on Bitcoin has temporarily stalled price momentum.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $118,606, down 0.8% during the early trading hours of Friday.
CoinGlass data reveals that traders continue to short Bitcoin, establishing a significant liquidation barrier at $121,500.
However, analysts maintain that the bull run remains far from over, particularly with the emerging altcoin season, which has seen XRP establish new all-time highs above $3.7 and Ethereum break through its six-month resistance level of $3,500.
Regarding Bitcoin, technical analysis suggests that surpassing the $121,000 resistance level could open the path for Bitcoin to advance toward $132,000.
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