A recent report from Bitcoinist highlighted a disturbing trend among early Bitcoin investors that could explain why the cryptocurrency’s price is in a perpetual state of decline. According to data from on-chain data analytics platforms these early Bitcoin whaleswho own thousands of BTC had started selling off their significant inventory. But even after a month of continued dumping, it appears these big investors are far from done and more pain lies ahead.
Bitcoin whales are dumping billions of dollars on the market
As the Bitcoinist report showed, two early Bitcoin whales began moving their holdings to centralized exchanges in October. This selling continued into the new month, and by the first week of November, these two whales had sent over 16,000 BTC to exchanges. In total, BTC’s value came to over $1.7 billion, demonstrating the significant selling pressure Bitcoin was facing at the time.
After this first sell-out in early November, there seemed to be a delay in salesbut this did not last long. On-chain data platform Lookonchain reported that the whales were at it again, and this time one of the whales had returned and appears to be selling the rest of their belongings.
Bitcoin OG Owen Gunden is at the center of all these sales and recently moved the last of his sizable Bitcoin holdings to a centralized exchange. In total, Gunden sent 3,549 BTC worth $362.84 million to the Kraken exchange at the time of the transaction, after previously sending 600 BTC worth $61.17 million. In total, Gunden sent 11,000 BTC worth $1.12 billion to exchanges, presumably to sell.
Why sales increase
With these early Bitcoin whales on the move and causing significant selling pressure in the market, the question is why these investors are choosing to sell now after waiting all this time. This is because the $100,000 level remains threatened, and this multibillion-dollar selloff could trigger a bear market.
As members of the crypto community look for deeper meaning in the sale, says crypto influencer Udi Wertheimer gave a short and precise answer: the OGs are simply taking profits. These whales bought their BTC when it was dirt cheap and held on to their supply for about 15 years. Since then it has grown significantly, with most becoming billionaires of course for these whales to sell and pay out their winnings.
Instead of asking why the whales are selling, Wertheimer explains that investors should actually be asking, “Why hasn’t the price of Bitcoin dropped 70% when so many OGs are selling?” Considering the strength Bitcoin is demonstrating amid the sell-offs, the crypto influencer believes that “this should keep the bears awake.”
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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