KEY POINTS
- One BTC whale transferred $244.8 million of the digital asset from Coinbase
- Another Bitcoin whale moved nearly 8,000 BTC from Coinbase minutes later
- Over $1.2 billion worth of Bitcoin moved in and out of wallets and exchanges Monday
Two Bitcoin whales, or holders of the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency who have massive BTC stashes, have moved to "buy the dip" as the crypto community awaits the halving event during a highly volatile time in financial markets.
The first Bitcoin whale transferred 3,900 BTC worth over $244.8 million from Coinbase to an unknown wallet Tuesday, according to Whale Alert, which tracks the transactions of the crypto industry's largest digital asset holders.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 3,900 #BTC (244,865,529 USD) transferred from #Coinbase to unknown wallethttps://t.co/3yMt2tyipj
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 16, 2024
Just a few minutes later, another whale transferred a staggering 7,999 Bitcoin worth over $496.7 million from Coinbase to an unknown digital wallet.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 7,999 #BTC (496,765,407 USD) transferred from #Coinbase to unknown new wallethttps://t.co/8PWUbat82S
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 16, 2024
Crypto users on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to pick up on the news, many of them pointing out that such transactions could mean the whales were purchasing Bitcoin during the digital asset's lows.
"Whales are buying the dip while weak hands are panic selling," one user said. "Nice job weak hands ... this guy has your bitcoin," another user wrote.
"Buy the dip" has become a prominent phrase in the crypto kingdom as it indicates that whales are taking advantage of the digital asset's plunge to either purchase a variety of altcoins, or simply just to build up their BTC stash further.
Crypto market analyst RJ Fulton wrote last month that Bitcoin's slump should be taken by investors as "a healthy correction needed to make the next leg up." It seems BTC whales understand the notion, and Bitcoiners are taking the latest developments well.
Talk about a big fish in the crypto pond! That's impressive!
— rebander (@rebander) April 16, 2024
Wasn’t me but good move #BTC
— Antisocial.me (@Daytradr_net) April 16, 2024
Others immediately started speculating about the identity of the whale that spent more than $496 million. One user suggested it could have been the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock. Some said it was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who never publicly acknowledged he was into the Bitcoin craze, while others were confident it was MicroStrategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor, a known Bitcoin maximalist.
There was also a significant Bitcoin whale movement Monday, when more than $1.2 billion worth of BTC was moved across digital wallets and exchanges by some of the biggest holders of the world's largest cryptocurrency in a span of 24 hours. Notably, one holder moved 7,690 BTC worth over $483.4 million to Coinbase Institutional.
Bitcoin's dip to $63,000 from its impressive all-time high of $73,000 in March has had financial markets shaking, but Bitcoiners remained unfazed. Saylor, in particular, has been quite optimistic. He even shared that MicroStrategy's stock spiked 1097% since the tech firm adopted its Bitcoin strategy.
The latest developments come as the Bitcoin community waits for the expected April 20 halving event, wherein BTC supplies will be scarce due to Bitcoin mining rewards being cut in half.
