A Bitcoin whale came to life on Sunday, moving $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to new addresses after more than a decade of inactivity.
According to data from blockchain tracking service Whale Alert, the transfer occurred around 19:16 UTC. The tokens were transferred from the address “1KAA8GGhVjjUjVTz1HKAjCyGNzAKQd882j” to “bc1qm6m6d33d02edr0k8yj9jgt027zl6dvx6thjrxy”.
The wallet has been idle since the initial acquisition of BTC in November 2013 and subsequently remained untouched for over a decade.
The reasons behind the latest transfer are unclear. Large holders often transfer tokens between wallets for address management or security purposes, although such activity can also occur prior to sale or transfer to an exchange. In this case, the target address does not appear to be linked to a known exchange wallet.
Since BTC first surpassed the $100,000 mark in late 2024, dormant Bitcoin wallets have increasingly resurfaced. Some early investors and miners have moved long-term Bitcoin holdings over the past year, with some eventually taking profits after Bitcoin surged.
The trend was strongest in July last year, when a blockchain analytics firm flagged eight Satoshi-era wallets holding 10,000 BTC each for the first time in 14 years. The transfers come as Bitcoin trades past $100,000 and hovers near all-time highs.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands near $80,700, down more than 1% since midnight UTC, according to market data from CoinDesk.