$8.6B Bitcoin Whale Transfer Likely Not a Sell-Off, Says Arkham

     

Arkham Suggests Transfer May Be Linked to Wallet Upgrade

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham says there are no signs that the recent $8.6 billion in Bitcoin moved on Thursday is being prepared for sale.

In a post on X, Arkham stated that the movement of 10,000 BTC from each of eight separate wallets — untouched since 2011 — was “possibly related to an upgrade from legacy addresses to Native SegWit (bc1q) wallets,” which are known for improved security and reduced fees.

The firm noted that the BTC in question was originally deposited on April 2 or May 4, 2011, and had remained inactive for more than 14 years. The funds are now stored in eight new wallets and have not moved since.

Meanwhile, 10x Research suggested that while no clear sell-off signals have been identified, their data indicates a broader trend of early adopters gradually offloading holdings into growing ETF and corporate demand.

CZ Jokes He Joined Crypto “Too Late” After Watching Whale Move

The transfers have sparked various reactions across the crypto industry, with Coinbase’s head of product, Conor Grogan, raising the possibility — albeit a remote one — that the move may have stemmed from compromised wallets.

“There is a small possibility that the $8B in BTC that recently woke up were hacked or compromised private keys,” Grogan said. “If true, this would be by far the largest heist in human history.”

Adding a lighter tone, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao commented: “I got into crypto too late,” referring to the whales who acquired Bitcoin at around $0.10 per coin in 2011 and moved it in 2025.

Earlier this year, crypto analyst PlanB also revealed he had converted his Bitcoin holdings into spot ETFs, citing the convenience of avoiding private key management: “Not having to hassle with keys gives me peace of mind.”

Despite theories ranging from upgrades to hacks, no BTC from the whale wallets has been sold, and markets remain stable in the wake of the transfers.