A Bitcoin investor, whose wallet address is “bc1qlf,” has captured the market’s attention after selling 750 BTC, valued at $83.11 million, on Binance in just two hours.
This wallet is reportedly owned by a long-term investor who has held 5,000 BTC since 2012, when Bitcoin was trading at just $332 per coin, valuing the hoard at $1.66 million at that time.
The whale remained dormant for more than ten years before it began selling in December 2024, following Bitcoin’s surge beyond the $90,000 mark.
The approximate timing of the sales highlights the substantial profits that can be reaped by early Bitcoin investors who were able to weather years of market volatility.
$550 Million Profit Locked Up With Balance Of Holdings Still Material
At this point, the whale has liquidated 1,750 BTC at an average price of $108,160, netting $189.3 million in the process.
Since 2012, the whale originally had 5,000 BTC, and now the remaining wallet contains a total of 3,250 BTC, valued at over $360 million at current market values.
In total, the total profit is $550 million for a total return (multiple) of 331x its original investment.
This is now one of the most outstanding and most profitable long-term investments in Bitcoin history, and is further entrenching “HODLing” as legitimate, for anyone that has the patience to sit in their conviction and wait.
Market Stability Displays Good Liquidity Despite Whale Unloading
Despite the scale of the sale, the total Bitcoin market has remained strong. To date, Bitcoin is trading at an aggregate $111,013 for a minor 0.61% day-over-day increase.
Over the past 24 hours, volumes have remained steady at around $39.7 billion, indicating excellent liquidity and strong buying interest from both retail and institutional investors.
Although Bitcoin’s price has declined 2.39% over the past week, the market’s stability means that such whale activity, as significant as it is for the moment, is being absorbed without significantly impacting overall sentiment.
With its market capitalization of $2.21 trillion, Bitcoin continues to demonstrate strength even in the face of massive profit-taking.
Also Read: Bitcoin Whale Awakens After 14 Years & Moves 20,000 BTC Worth $2.18B Acquired at $0.78 Each
Other Whale Moves Mark Shift to Ethereum
The “bc1qlf” wallet is not the only whale on the move. On August 21, another whale, holding 14,837 BTC worth $1.69 billion, sold 670 BTC after seven years.
The whale spent $295 million to set a long position on Ethereum when BTC was trading close to $124,000, UnoCrypto reported.
The following day, we reported another whale sold part of its 100,784 BTC to purchase 62,914 ETH and set a 135,265 ETH long position, as on-chain analytics tied multiple wallets with more than $9.4 billion in Bitcoin reserves.
The strategic shift coincides with an increasingly diversified landscape of whales into Ethereum and institutional buying to counter the selling pressure.
The context indicates some transfer of power dynamics, at least in relative terms, between Bitcoin and Ethereum outside of the overall cryptocurrency landscape.
Also Read: Dormant Bitcoin Whale Dumps $57.6M BTC Via Binance After 1-Year, $34M Profit At Stake