Bitcoin Dips as Dormant Whales Stir After 14 Years
Bitcoin slipped a bit on the Fourth of July, dropping around 2% after briefly touching $110,000. By midday, it settled near $107,600—nothing dramatic, but enough to make traders glance at the charts a little harder. What’s interesting isn’t just the price action, though. On-chain data shows some old Bitcoin wallets, untouched for over a decade, suddenly waking up.
Seven wallets from 2011, holding a combined 70,000 BTC (worth roughly $7.6 billion now), moved funds for the first time in 14 years. Back then, Bitcoin traded below $4. Now? Well, you do the math. The timing—Independence Day—feels a little too convenient, but maybe that’s just coincidence. Or not.
Whales Aren’t Buying Like They Used To
Here’s the thing: big Bitcoin holders—whales—have been quietly shifting their strategy. For months, they’d been accumulating, pushing total whale holdings from 3.28 million BTC in January to 3.55 million by June. That helped keep prices steady during the first half of the year.
But now, that trend’s flipped. Data from CryptoQuant shows whale holdings have started shrinking for the first time in six months. It’s not a freefall, but it’s enough to raise eyebrows. Historically, when this happens, it often signals a short-term pullback. Some whales might be cashing out. Others could just be moving funds around. Either way, it’s worth watching.
Where’s the Money Going?
The dormant whale activity is the real head-scratcher. Twelve transactions, each moving 10,000 BTC, were traced to a cluster analysts call “BTC Whale 4th July.” The coins went to new addresses—not exchanges, at least not yet. One transaction even bundled up 180 old block rewards (50 BTC each) into a single 9,000 BTC output. That’s classic early-miner behavior.
Does this mean a sell-off’s coming? Maybe. Maybe not. The market tends to get jumpy when old coins move, even if they aren’t immediately dumped. And with whale accumulation slowing down, there’s a chance Bitcoin tests lower support levels, maybe around $105,000.
For now, it’s a waiting game. If those 70,000 BTC stay parked in new wallets, the dip might be temporary. But if they start hitting exchanges? Well, let’s just say July could get interesting.
