Dormant Bitcoin Whales Stir Market Fears but Refrain from Exchanges

A string of significant on-chain transactions has left market observers wondering whether long-dormant Bitcoin whales are preparing to sell or simply switching portfolios.

In mid-to-late July, three early Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for years awakened, transferring a combined total of over $600 million in BTC. The first transfer occurred on July 13 when a wallet dormant since October 2018 moved 2,931 BTC to a new address. At the time, this was worth approximately $188 million based on a BTC price of around $64,000, representing a nearly 10x paper gain against an estimated cost basis of around $6,500.

The second transfer happened on July 16 when an address dormant since December 2017 moved 5,908 BTC to a new, unlabeled address. This transaction is valued at approximately $383 million and represents paper gains of nearly $283 million. The third transfer occurred on July 20 when a wallet dormant for five years transferred 700 BTC, with a purchase cost of around $22.34 million and a current value of about $45.3 million.

The commonality among these three transfers is that none of the funds directly entered known exchanges, meaning there is currently no evidence of an intention to sell immediately. According to Galaxy Research, the 'awakening' scale of ancient holdings in 2026 is less than half of that in 2025, indicating the 'Great Redistribution' process is nearing its end.