A long-dormant Bitcoin whale has emerged from the shadows and begun selling. The wallet, tagged by Arkham as "5K BTC OG," originally received 5,000 BTC in 2012 when the price was just $332, totaling only $1.66 million. Today, that stash is worth nearly half a billion dollars, and the entity has already cashed out half of it.
According to data from Lookonchain and Arkham, the wallet began offloading Dec. 4, 2024. Since then, it has sold 2,500 BTC in multiple transactions, earning about $265 million at an average exit price of $106,164.
Just hours ago, an additional 500 BTC was sent to Binance, valued at $47.77 million. This marks the latest wave of exits from this 12-year-old holder.
The selling behavior appears organized and calculated. Rather than fully liquidating, the OG has moved 250-500 BTC per deposit, spreading the outflows across at least 10 Binance-bound transactions over five months.
These moves suggest an intent to blend into greater liquidity zones to avoid high slippage and automated market maker detection.
Story is not over
The wallet still holds 2,500 BTC, valued at $237.5 million, which could hit the market next. With Bitcoin's price just below $100,000, a substantial dump of this size from legacy holders could push the market down further into an already congested resistance zone.
The OG’s total profits now exceed $500 million, making this one of the most successful HODL-to-exit arcs in Bitcoin history. While long-term believers applaud the "diamond hands," many traders are nervous. These coins have been inactive since the early post-Satoshi era, but now they are active and liquid. Half of them are already gone.
Will the next 500 BTC drop coincide with a rejection at $100K — or will it be absorbed fully at once?
Gamza Khanzadaev
Alex Dovbnya
Arman Shirinyan
Tomiwabold Olajide