A Bitcoin address dormant since 2018 transferred 2,931 BTC worth $188 million on July 12, according to Arkham Intelligence. The whale originally acquired the coins when Bitcoin traded near $6,475, realizing a roughly 10x gain at current prices near $64,000.
A Bitcoin whale moved 2,931 BTC worth $188 million on July 12 after holding the stash dormant since 2018, Arkham Intelligence data shows.
The transfer was flagged by on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, which identified the address as having been inactive since 2018, when Bitcoin traded near $6,475, according to the firm's data.
Bitcoin traded at $63,808 as of 14:00 UTC, down 0.4% in the past 24 hours, with the MACD printing a bearish death cross at 249.53 and the RSI at 51.09 remaining neutral, CoinGecko data shows. The 2,931 BTC stack moved as the asset tested resistance near the EMA200 at $63,917, with support at the EMA50 of $63,292.
The transfer adds to a backdrop of heightened attention on dormant Bitcoin addresses. The Bitcoin Policy Institute recently filed to intervene in a New York lawsuit seeking to claim ownership of 39,069 allegedly abandoned wallets, including addresses linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, arguing that prolonged inactivity does not constitute abandonment under property law.
Large dormant whale movements often create uncertainty, as they could signal an intent to sell or simply a wallet consolidation, according to analysts at Galaxy Digital. The roughly 10x unrealized gain may be interpreted by traders as potential sell-side pressure, which could cause short-term BTC price volatility.
The lawsuit, filed in March by a pseudonymous plaintiff using the name "Noah Doe," targets roughly 3.7 million BTC across 39,069 dormant addresses. Galaxy's Alex Thorn noted that nearly all of the defendant addresses overlapped with a 2025 dusting campaign and with wallets Craig Wright previously claimed in separate litigation. Even if successful, the plaintiffs would obtain only a court declaration rather than control of the Bitcoin itself, Thorn said.
Bitcoin's market dominance stood at 54.2% as of July 12, according to CoinGecko, as the broader crypto market capitalization reached $2.8 trillion. The whale transfer occurred as BIP-110 activated on the Bitcoin network, triggering automatic block alerts after two new blocks were mined, according to Farside Investors.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
