What if this guy with 96,651 BTC suddenly cashes out?

[Jexjatto]

https://blockchain.info/address/3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64

Currently circulating supply for Bitcoin is 16,874,375 BTC.

Does this mean an insignificant drop of ca. 0.57%?

Woow!!! now that is a lot of coin, ...
I would go bananas over this, if i had this account..
Anyways i dont think he will sell all that just once, besides, there are limits a person can sell, ...
But for the answer to your question, if he suddenly cashes out, yes, there is gonna be a high or low in the market, however it goes, i am not sure .

[btcprospecter]

I'm sure if he was to cash out it would cause a big ripple through the crypto world. I would like to think if you have that much bitcoin you see how it can be used in the future and not just into crypto currencies for quick gains.

[newinbtc]

This wallet shows as the third richest on the rich list, and instincts tell me that it's somehow affiliated with Bitfinex.
but there is no clue
https://blockchain.info/address/3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64

source internet

some news channel talking about holder of this address
https://www.dailysabah.com/finance/2018/02/16/gutsy-trader-who-bought-400-million-in-bitcoin-at-its-low-is-nearing-billionaire-status

https://www.finder.com.au/worlds-third-richest-bitcoin-wallet-just-bought-41000btc

as per news this person has invested 400 million dollar at 8500$ about 41000 btc

[HabBear]

Does this mean an insignificant drop of ca. 0.57%?

That would not be significant, but you're putting a lot of concen on one event that actually happens more frequently than you think.

It doesn't matter if selling comes from 1 wallet or 1,000, there have been plenty of days, weeks, or months where there's been a major sell off. And major sell offs will drive the price down. It's all normal in the cycle of supply and demand investing.

The only concern you should have related to 1 wallet selling Bitcoin, is Satoshi's wallet...the first wallet...if you see coins coming out of that wallet you'll see a lot of people asking questions.

[NeuroticFish]

Does this mean an insignificant drop of ca. 0.57%?

Check the candles on the markets. 100k BTC sold in one day at one exchange can cause a drop of even 15-18%, but this only if the other markets are also selling.
A smart seller would spread between the top 2-3 exchanges and then the result would be about 3x smaller drop (and better price for the seller).
Depending on market's mood, such a drop can cause a downtrend or it grows back in less than a day. I expect more the second.

[gentlemand]

Only a complete and total imbecile would send that much to an exchange. All of the seriously big trades happen OTC which never touches the live market. Vast amounts can change hands P2P.

They would also have buyers lining up. It's very rare to be able to obtain amounts of that magnitude from anywhere.

[Marine8]

This amount is far less than the total supply,so i think it wont have a significant effect on the price of bitcoin. If you look at the volumes of bitcoin on the numerous exchanges we have,you will realize that a lot of bitcoins are being sold daily,but the price is still not affected significantly.

[Chaser35]

I do not think there will be anything if a man with so many Btc goes crazy I stay with his family so much Btc I'm mad so you do not notice anything in your family.

[alyssa85]

https://blockchain.info/address/3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64

Currently circulating supply for Bitcoin is 16,874,375 BTC.

Does this mean an insignificant drop of ca. 0.57%?

Nobody sensible "suddenly cashes out" - unless they want to sell for considerably lower than the current price.

Most likely they'll sell in tranches over the counter, rather than on exchanges.

[josegr4ham]

If he bought that many bitcoins then for sure he is not gonna sell anytime soon. Probably he wanted to make sure he has enough for the future

[Washball]

We can only guess why he bought this large amount of bitcoins. But he will for sure not cash out suddenly. It's more likely he'll buy even more bitcoins.

[cryptohunter]

cashing out of bitcoin ..... lol

[spiker777]

Firstly, many of the wallets which have significant amounts of bitcoins are actually lost, so its unlikely they cash out at once.

Secondly, when huge bitcoin sales do take place, they do not typically occur via an exchange, and thus do not affect the market price.

Furthermore, selling the entirety of his holdings at once would be very difficult unless it was to an institutional investor, and they would be likely to take quite a hit on the rate, probably -20% or more at that volume.

[xderek]

You could guess that there is probably something out of ordinary about such case. First off, is some one who never watched his balance, or if he did, he would have an heart attack and probably next day be grateful and go to church or something.

[JuniAiko]

What if this guy with $10 billion suddenly starts buying Bitcoin?

Does this mean an insignificant drop of ca. 0.57%?

Circulating supply is irrelevant, most of it isn't "circulating". Only a small portion is traded each day. Trade volume is currently $7 billion per day.

Buying with dollars increases the price, selling Bitcoins lowers it. The market will always find an equilibrium, which makes speculating like this useless.

Thanks! This answered my question!

[RodeoX]

Isn't it far more likely that this "guy's wallet" is actually the wallet of a business like Overstock? Look at how small the deposits are.  it's an exchange or casino or something.

[allthebitandbobs]

it would definitely dip the market by about 20% at least into the red

[1Referee]

Look at how small the deposits are.  it's an exchange or casino or something.

That's not interesting as a story. If you want some sort of a hyped article, it's much cooler if you say that it's an anonymous trader or a hedgefund having bought that many coins. As stupid as most of the people here are, they take everything for granted just by reading a title. It just shows how low the average IQ here is.

In the same way, you could ask what would happen if;

Satoshi with his assumed 1,000,000BTC cashes out.
Mark Karpeles with his assumed 300,000BTC cashes out.
Roger Ver with his assumed 300,000BTC cashes out.
Jihan Wu with his assumed 200,000BTC cashes out.

Depending on the exchange, especially in case of Satoshi, it would cause a flash crash tanking the price down to sub $10 levels.

[JuniAiko]

Look at how small the deposits are.  it's an exchange or casino or something.

That's not interesting as a story. If you want some sort of a hyped article, it's much cooler if you say that it's an anonymous trader or a hedgefund having bought that many coins. As stupid as most of the people here are, they take everything for granted just by reading a title. It just shows how low the average IQ here is.

In the same way, you could ask what would happen if;

Satoshi with his assumed 1,000,000BTC cashes out.
Mark Karpeles with his assumed 300,000BTC cashes out.
Roger Ver with his assumed 300,000BTC cashes out.
Jihan Wu with his assumed 200,000BTC cashes out.

Depending on the exchange, especially in case of Satoshi, it would cause a flash crash tanking the price down to sub $10 levels.

That was not the point of my question.
The hypothetical question was intended as a way for me (who is trading stuff for the very first time ever in my life) to learn about how the market would actually react, and what drives a given % increase/decrease in value, etc.

[Hydrogen]

Its not necessarily a single person. It could be a large financial institution like a bank. It could be a large corporation. Apple is sitting on $90 billion dollars in surplus cash, last I checked. It is possible they invested $400 million of their disposable cash on bitcoin secretly as a hedge against potential devaluation of the US dollar. It is also possible that goldman sachs (which has sounded strangely positive on bitcoin lately) or another bank, hedge fund or another investment firm is buying up a "small" $400 mil stake in bitcoin the way an investor might buy gold in a high deficit/debt economy.

I don't know if we'll ever learn the true identity of the mysterious person or group who bought 96,651 BTC. But it is an interesting story for sure. The motive and story behind it will undoubtedly be very interesting as well if its ever publicized.