A Bitcoin miner transferred 2,000 BTC (worth nearly $200 million) he had held since 2010 to Coinbase, becoming the latest episode in a new trend in the cryptocurrency industry where early BTC holders are selling or moving their funds after being inactive for years.
On-chain analysts noticed that more whales were selling their holdings in waves since late 2024. In 2025, the increase in whale holdings fell to 3 million BTC amid fears that the sales would destabilize the market.
Why are Bitcoin holders selling now?
A Bitcoin miner who won rewards in 2010 transferred 2,000 BTC to Coinbase Exchange after keeping the coins untouched for 15 years. At current prices near $100,000 per Bitcoin, this transfer is worth almost $200 million.
The minor stored these coins in 40 separate Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses, the original way Bitcoin addresses worked in 2010 before newer, better formats were introduced.
CryptoQuant reported that after BTC first crossed $100,000 in December 2024, there were three main selling periods: late 2024, July 2025, and November 2025.
In July 2025, a whale moved 80,000 BTC which had remained dormant for 14 years. Galaxy Digital contributed to the transaction, which was worth around $9 billion at the time Bitcoin was trading at nearly $108,000. The company’s CEO, Mike Novogratz, confirmed that companies like Strategy and other Bitcoin buyers quickly purchased the coins without crashing the market. Strategy already acquired 673 783 BTC from the beginning of 2025.
Will the price of BTC fall due to whale sales?
Bitcoin was valued above $126,000 in early October 2025 before falling 30% to around $86,000 in mid-December. During the first two waves of whales selling their holdings, demand for Bitcoin ETFs was strong enough to exceed sellers’ supply. ETF inflows kept prices rising even as old holders cashed out.
When ETF buying calmed and a new wave of whale activity arrived in November, prices finally began to fall.
After the BTC halving event cut mining rewards in half, mining companies had to sell more of their Bitcoins to cover electricity and operating costs.
Riot Platforms, a major Bitcoin mining company, said it sold 1,818 BTC in December, generating net proceeds of $161.6 million at an average price of $88,870 per coin. The sales reported in the filings are a serious escalation from November, when the company sold just 38 BTC.
In January 2025, another sleeper whale caused a stir by sending 500 BTC worth $47 million to Coinbase Prime after six years of inactivity. This wallet initially received these coins when Bitcoin was trading around $7,000, meaning the holder earned 13x on their investment.
Market observers are debating whether or not Bitcoin will follow its traditional four-year cycle that typically includes a bear market after price spikes. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, believes the market has changed because ETFs and corporate treasuries are creating new demand that was not there in previous cycles. He believes further gains could come in 2026 if institutional buying continues.
According to reports from Cryptopolitan, investment firms such as Berstein, Bitwise, Standard Chartered, and Grayscale agree with CryptoQuant executives in dismissing the significance of the four-year cycle as more relevant macroeconomic factors have come into play with the maturity and regulatory status of the crypto market.