Bitcoin’s blockchain recorded one of the biggest moves of recent weeks as a total of 4,999 BTC, valued at $567,998,549 based on a reference price of $113,800 per coin, was transferred from a well-known whale address to a wallet that had never held coins before.
To say the least, the sender's wallet is long accustomed to holding large sums of Bitcoin. It has held close to 16,000 BTC for years and still holds about 15,968 BTC — roughly $1.8 billion — after this payout, which makes the address one of the deepest pockets still in play.
The new wallet is another story. There is no prior history, no follow-up transactions, and no links to exchanges. For now, it sits among the top single-holder addresses, with this one transfer being its only entry.
Who can it be?
The most notable part is not just the amount moved but also the cost. The fee was 0.00000226 BTC — about $0.26 — to move a sum that rivals the annual GDP of some small countries. This efficiency is why whale transfers receive so much attention: the sums are jaw-dropping, yet the process remains low cost.
It is up to you to guess whether the $568 million will end up in long-term cold storage, as part of a private deal settled off the books or as a prelude to something larger.
What is certain is that the blockchain has the transaction on record, and the coins now sit untouched in their new home, waiting for the next block to reveal what comes next.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team