In the past week, several strange movements of dormant bitcoins have captured the attention of onchain analysts, with nine transactions on Jan. 31, 2024, mobilizing 726 bitcoins that had been stagnant since Mar. 30, 2016. Merely two days after, a staggering 1,210 bitcoins, originating from addresses created on the same date in 2016, were dispatched through 15 individual transactions. On Feb. 4, 2024, a further mysterious tranche of 20 transactions unleashed 715.28 sleeping bitcoins, valued at $31 million according to the current exchange rates. Not too long after that, the same entity moved another 639.85 bitcoin worth $27.7 million in a set of 30 transactions.
Odd Spending Spotlights Strange Whale Movements
An intriguing pattern of bitcoin expenditures from years past has come to light. Bitcoin.com News highlighted a peculiar sequence of movements originating from Mar. 30, 2016, where an unidentified party shuffled approximately 1,936 BTC through 24 transactions on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, 2024.
No single transfer exceeded the 80 BTC threshold, with the bitcoins moving from traditional Pay to Public Key Hash (P2PKH) addresses to simply a new collection of P2PKH wallets. Then, on Sunday afternoon, a similar event unfolded with another 20 transactions, this time involving bitcoins initially acquired in 2017.
While the transaction pattern bore resemblance, distinct details in the pattern diverged. Yet, the 20 transactions evidently originated from a single proprietor, and it’s quite probable that this individual was the same one who mobilized BTC from the Mar. 30, 2016, addresses.
The BTC moved on Sunday summed up to 715.28 BTC, valued at $31 million, initially acquired on Feb. 16, 2017. This reveals that the bitcoins remained untouched for approximately six years, 11 months, and 19 days. Had the owner delayed the transaction by just 12 more days, it would have marked the seven-year milestone since their initial acquisition.
During that period, BTC was being traded at $1,027 per coin, placing the total value of the assets at $734,592. A notable deviation from previous transactions, aside from the acquisition dates, is the average amount per transaction; the 20 transactions curiously moved slightly less than 37 BTC each.
According to data from btcparser.com, 16 out of these transactions involved less than 36 BTC per move, with all 20 maintaining a minimum of 35 BTC per transaction. Mirroring the earlier disbursements last week, the owner did not shift any of the corresponding bitcoin cash (BCH) tied to the 715.28 units.
And akin to the previous peculiar movements from 2016, these funds were also shifted from old-style addresses to a new set of legacy addresses without consolidating the funds. Although the assets date back to 2017, their origin is linked to addresses established in August 2016.
Similar to the transactions earlier in the week, these 2017 bitcoins were transferred with “moderate” privacy, receiving a score of 55 out of 100 from Blockchair’s privacy-o-meter, a tool that assesses transaction anonymity. All 20 transfers from Feb. 4, 2024, can be seen here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
2017 Whale Transfers 1,355.13 Bitcoin Total After Another Tranche of 30 Transactions
The activity resumed at block height 828,946, where the whale initiated another series of 30 transactions that continued well into Feb. 5, 2024. This time, the movement of funds adopted a slightly altered pattern, predominantly in chunks ranging between 19 and 21 BTC. However, at block height 828,961, there was a noticeable shift in the transaction sizes, with amounts not falling below 24 and not exceeding 36 BTC per transaction. Altogether, the individual moved a total of 639.85 BTC, valued at $27.73 million.
Consistent with the previous 20 transactions, these 30 transactions also originated from wallets established on Feb. 16, 2017. Similarly, the equivalent 639.85 BCH linked to the bitcoins transferred remains untouched. The 30 distinct transactions from Feb. 4-5, 2024, can be seen here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
What do you think about the latest 20 transfers from 2017 that copied the same pattern as the transfers from 2016 earlier last week? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.