A significant event unfolded in the cryptocurrency space as a miner transferred 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at nearly $200 million, to Coinbase. This marked another instance in a trend where early Bitcoin holders, after years of inactivity, are finally selling or relocating their assets. Analysts focusing on on-chain data have observed a growing number of whales liquidating their holdings since late 2024.
The miner, who had kept the coins untouched since 2010, stored the BTC in 40 different Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses, the original format for Bitcoin addresses. The transfer occurred at a time when Bitcoin prices were hovering around $100,000, making the sale particularly noteworthy. Following Bitcoin”s unprecedented rise to over $100,000 in December 2024, there were three notable selling waves in late 2024, July 2025, and November 2025.
In July 2025, another whale moved 80,000 BTC after holding the assets for 14 years, a transaction facilitated by Galaxy Digital and worth around $9 billion at that time when BTC was trading near $108,000. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, confirmed that institutional buyers such as Strategy swiftly acquired these coins without causing significant market disruption, with Strategy reportedly amassing 673,783 BTC by early 2025.
The question looming over the market is whether these whale sell-offs will lead to a decline in Bitcoin”s price. Earlier in October 2025, Bitcoin was valued above $126,000 but later experienced a 30% drop to approximately $86,000 by mid-December. During the initial waves of whale selling, demand from Bitcoin ETFs was robust enough to absorb the increased supply, allowing prices to remain stable. However, when ETF purchases slowed down and further whale activity emerged in November, the market began to falter.
Following the Bitcoin halving event that halved mining rewards, mining companies faced increased pressure to sell more of their BTC to manage operational costs. Riot Platforms, a notable Bitcoin mining firm, disclosed a sale of 1,818 BTC in December, generating $161.6 million at an average price of $88,870 per coin. This marked a pronounced increase compared to November”s sales of just 38 BTC.
In January 2025, the market was stirred when another dormant whale transferred 500 BTC worth $47 million to Coinbase Prime after six years of inactivity. This wallet originally acquired the coins when Bitcoin was priced around $7,000, representing a remarkable 13-fold increase on the initial investment.
Market analysts are engaged in discussions about whether Bitcoin will adhere to its historical four-year cycle, which traditionally concludes in a bear market following peak prices. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggests that the market dynamics have shifted, influenced by the entry of ETFs and corporate treasuries, creating a new demand landscape that did not exist in earlier cycles. He posits that further price increases could materialize in 2026 if institutional interest persists.
Reports from firms like Bernstein, Bitwise, Standard Chartered, and Grayscale echo Ju”s sentiments, as they also downplay the significance of the four-year cycle, arguing that evolving macroeconomic factors have become more pertinent in the increasingly mature and regulated cryptocurrency market.
