Dormant whale awakens after 8 years, moves $250m worth of Bitcoin: Arkham

A long-dormant Bitcoin wallet has suddenly woken up after eight years of inactivity. According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the whale has moved over $250 million worth of Bitcoin.

The transactions were executed within the last 16 hours and show that the value of the holdings has appreciated from approximately $3 million in early 2017 to over $250 million today. Before yesterday’s transfers, the wallet had maintained its Bitcoin (BTC) in a single address for more than eight years.

The transactions, visible on Arkham’s monitoring dashboard, show the funds moving between several wallets labeled as “250M BTC Whale” addresses.

Specifically, the transactions took place in two batches about 14-16 hours ago, with each transfer involving approximately 3,000 BTC worth roughly $252 million per transfer.

Whale purchased Bitcoin when it was around $1,000

According to the transaction history, the Bitcoin was originally purchased around 2016, when BTC traded at approximately $1,000 or lower.

Before these recent movements, the last transactions from these wallets occurred around 8 years ago, as shown by the timestamps in Arkham’s data—the early transactions from 2016 show the accumulation of Bitcoin when the cryptocurrency was less valuable.

The awakening of dormant wallets from Bitcoin’s earlier years has become increasingly rare. These events offer a glimpse into the major wealth creation experienced by early adopters who maintained their holdings through multiple market cycles.

While some long-term holders maintain their Bitcoin positions, industry experts are debating whether Bitcoin’s traditional four-year market cycle will be sustained into the future. Tomas Greif, Chief of Product & Strategy at Braiins, recently questioned the sustainability of these cycles:

“Is the 4-year bitcoin cycle dead? Early on, halvings had a major supply impact. But as the majority of BTC has been mined, their effect is shrinking. In a couple of halvings, they will have a negligible effect on supply,” Greif noted.

He suggests that while historical patterns may continue as a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” the fundamental impact of halvings on Bitcoin’s supply disappears with each cycle. Greif emphasized that halvings will continue to affect Bitcoin mining economics regardless of market cycles.