A long dormant Bitcoin whale has recently transferred 1,000 BTC, worth over $60 million, to a new address after being inactive for a whopping 12 years, with the coins being worth around $11,900 at the time it was last active in 2012.
The resurfacing of such a large holding tends to raise eyebrows in the crypto trading world, with analysts pondering the potential impact on supply and price. Traditionally, these movements are viewed with some bearish caution, as they could signal an upcoming supply shock.
This windfall represents a potential gain of over 500,000% for the unidentified owner of the wallet, who paid minimal transaction fees of $11.46 for the transfer to two unknown addresses. This means the funds didn’t go into address associated with cryptocurrency trading platforms, and the whale may not be cashing out just yet.
The transaction came as the price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been recovering from a recent low near the $53,000 mark. The cryptocurrency surged to over $63,000 after former U.S. President Donald Trump suffered an assassination attempt that spurred speculation the pro-crypto presidential candidate could be reelected later this year.
Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania in a failed assassination attempt that sparked global condemnation of political violence. The former President’s defiant reaction to the assassination attempt, which saw him stand up as secret service agents tried to protect him to yell “fight” into the crowd is believed to have galvanized support for his campaign.
On prediction markets, Trump’s chance of being elected has shot up after the incident with his chances on Polymarket now standing at 71%, compared to 18% for Biden, 5% for Kamala Harris and just 3% for Michelle Obama. Trump’s chances of success, according to prediction market users, stood at 60% just before the assassination attempt.
IT also came amid an institutional Bitcoin buying frenzy, with on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant revealing institutional investors have entered their “second-largest” accumulation process of the year, acquiring more than $5.8 billion worth of BTC in a week.