A recent report from Bitcoinist highlighted a disturbing trend among early Bitcoin investors that could explain why the cryptocurrency’s price has been in a perpetual state of decline. According to data from on-chain data analytics platforms, these early Bitcoin whales, who hold thousands of BTC, had begun selling their considerable stash. But even after a month of consistent dumping, it seems these large investors are far from done, and more pain could be ahead.
Bitcoin Whales Dump Billions Of Dollars On The Market
As the Bitcoinist report showed, two early Bitcoin whales began moving their holdings into centralized exchanges back in October. This selling continued into the new month, and by the first week of November, these two whales had sent more than 16,000 BTC to exchanges. In total, the value of the BTC came out to over $1.7 billion, showing the considerable sell pressure that Bitcoin had faced at the time.
Following these initial sell-offs into the start of November, there seemed to be a slowdown in the selling, but this did not last very long. On-chain data platform Lookonchain reported that the whales were back at it once again, and this time, one of the whales had returned and looks to be selling the rest of their holdings.
Bitcoin OG Owen Gunden is at the center of all of this selling, recently moving the last of his considerable Bitcoin holdings onto a centralized exchange. In total, Gunden sent 3,549 BTC worth $362.84 million at the time of the transaction to the Kraken exchange, after previously sending out 600 BTC worth $61.17 million. In total, Gunden has sent 11,000 BTC worth $1.12 billion to exchanges, presumably to sell.
Why The Selling Is Ramping Up
With these early Bitcoin whales on the move and triggering significant selling pressure on the market, the question has been why these investors are choosing to sell now after waiting for all of this time. This comes as the $100,000 level remains threatened, and these billion-dollar sell-offs could trigger a bear market.
While crypto community members look for some deep meaning in the sell-offs, crypto influencer Udi Wertheimer gave a short and precise answer: the OGs are simply taking profit. These whales had bought their BTC when it was dirt cheap and have held onto their stash for around 15 years. Having grown considerably since then, with most becoming billionaires, it is only natural for these whales to sell and cash out their profits.
Instead of asking why the whales are selling, Wertheimer explains that what investors should really be asking is “why is btc price not down -70% when so many OGs are selling?” Given the strength that Bitcoin is demonstrating amid the selling, the crypto influencer believes “that’s what should keep the bears up at night.”
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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