Skip to main content

Sudden $8.6 Billion Bitcoin Move May Be Largest Crypto Heist — Incoming Market Crash?

In a stunning development, 80,000 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at over $8.6 billion, have been moved into new wallets setting a wave of speculations across the crypto market. Contributing to this discourse, Conor Grogan, Head of Product at Coinbase has stated there is significant possibility that this series of recent whale transactions could be an actual crypto heist.

Did The Largest Bitcoin Theft Just Unfold In Silence?

In an X post on July 4, prominent analytics firm Arkham Intelligence firm reports that a single entity has now transferred 80,000 BTC in equal portions into eight new wallets. On-chain data reveals that these Bitcoin holdings were originally deposited into their previous wallets on April 2 and May 4, 2011, suggesting over 14 years of complete dormancy.

As with other major whale transactions, the recent activation of these long-held BTC have alerted market traders and investors alike especially amidst the present BTC price struggles. Although, the fact that these transfers did not involve exchange-affiliated wallets has helped ease concerns of an imminent market sell-off.

However, Conor Grogan has warned these sudden Bitcoin transfers might have been the largest crypto heist in history. In explaining this theory, the Coinbase executive draws attention to a small Bitcoin Cash (BCH) transaction from one of the corresponding wallet clusters approximately 14 hours prior to the massive Bitcoin movements.

 

Bitcoin

The transaction which is a test-like output of 10,000 BCH valued at roughly $4.9 million was traced on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Grogan explains the fact that other BCH wallets remained dormant suggest that this particular BCH transfer might have been hackers testing the private key as BCH transactions are now usually tracked by whale monitoring services. Another concern highlighted by the Coinbase executive is the transfers were not automated or exchange-related, but rather appeared to be manual transactions, thereby increasing suspicions of compromised private keys. Nevertheless, Grogan retains the position that this theory represents “extreme speculation” suggesting the transactions may have indeed been initiated by the wallet’s rightful owner. Notably, several crypto analysts and enthusiasts have pushed back against Grogan’s narrative, describing the recent 8,000 BTC transfer as a “handshake transaction” rather than a hack. In particular an analyst with X username binji pointed out that the slow and deliberate pace of the transactions seemed inconsistent with the behavior typically observed in hacks, especially if they were executed by a single entity.

Bitcoin Price Overview

At the time of writing, Bitcoin exchanges hands at $108,150 following a 1.06% decline in the past day. However, the leading cryptocurrency maintains a positive performance on larger time frames as evidenced by gains of 0.98% and 2.78% on the weekly and monthly chart respectively.

Bitcoin

from Bitcoinist.com https://ift.tt/k9FjleV
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bitcoin ETFs Post Second Straight Week Of $500 Million Outflow — Details

The US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) recorded their second consecutive week of significant outflows over the last five-day trading period. This recent run of disappointing performances reflects the ongoing shift in investor sentiment in the United States. Over the past year, strong inflows into the US Bitcoin ETF market have constantly been associated with positive action for the BTC price. Fittingly, the price of Bitcoin has been consolidating over the past few weeks, struggling to pick up any real momentum. Bitcoin ETFs Record Fourth Consecutive Outflow Day According to the latest market data , the US Bitcoin ETFs registered a total daily outflow of $62.77 million on Friday, February 21. This latest round of withdrawals marked the fourth straight day (and the eighth day in the last nine trading days) that the crypto-based products would witness a net capital outflow. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (with the ticker GBTC) accounted for a larger percentage of Friday’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bitcoin Remains Range-Bound As Volatility Declines – Analyst Explains Price Action

Bitcoin has experienced frustrating price action in recent weeks, leaving investors impatient about its short-term direction. The price has been testing crucial supply levels between $98K and $100K, struggling to break out as uncertainty dominates the market. The lack of a clear move has led to speculation about whether BTC is preparing for a breakout or another correction. Adding to the uncertainty, the market was hit by negative news on Friday when crypto exchange Bybit was hacked, resulting in the theft of $1.4 billion in ETH. The incident caused fear and volatility, briefly dragging prices lower. However, Bybit responded quickly to reassure investors, easing some of the initial panic and stabilizing the market. Despite this, Bitcoin continues to consolidate in a tight range. Crypto expert Daan shared an analysis on X, noting that BTC is still ranging while volatility is steadily decreasing. As price compression increases, traders are on high alert for a potential explosive move....
Post a Comment
Read more

OpenSea Dodges A Bullet As SEC Drops Investigation—Details

In a move that many in the crypto industry view as a positive signal, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially discontinued its investigation into OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace. This decision concludes months of uncertainty regarding the regulatory status of NFTs and their classification under US securities laws. SEC Decision Signals A Shift On February 21, 2025, Devin Finzer, the CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, said the SEC will not take any enforcement action against the firm. This comes following the August 2024 Wells Notice to OpenSea issued by the SEC, which indicated the possibility of legal action on alleged unregistered securities offenses. The outcome of this case suggests a possible shift in the way authorities handle NFTs, therefore affecting the whole scene of digital assets. For the industry, this outcome has been seen as a major turning point. Though they are in rivalry with OpenSea, Chris Akhavan, the Chief Business Officer of Magic Eden,...
Post a Comment
Read more