[2018-09-16]$720 Million Bitcoin Wallet Has Woken Up

[vit05]

CCN

Once again in the world of cryptocurrency, we have a mystery on our hands.

A $720 million sleeping giant has woken up after four years, with $100 million moved to Bitfinex and Binance over the course of ten days at the end of August. The bitcoin wallet contains 111,114 BTC or 0.52% of the total supply. The sudden movement of these dormant funds could have a disruptive potential in the market price action, particularly if the funds belong to one of the two possible likely candidates suggested by Reddit sleuth u/sick_silk.

The Redditor brought the movement of the funds to the attention of the crypto community by publishing a series of posts tracking each transaction in detail accompanied with graphs representing the activity.

The first post was made on 31 August and suggested that the funds may be connected to the now-defunct dark web market Silk Road which handled the trade of billions of dollars worth of contraband such as recreational and prescription drugs, illegal weapons and pornography, malware, hacking services, guides to various types of criminal activity, and other black market goods and services.

u/Sick_Silk points out:

“It seems that the owner of a huge SilkRoad related wallet is moving funds actively since 3 days, dividing it in chunks of 100 coins by subwallets.

The original wallet owned 111,114.62 BTC / BCH , which is currently valuated ~ $844M (without taking in account other #Bitcoin forks).

Last movements on these subwallets are 4 years and 5 months old (March 9th, 2014).

The chunks have been divided over time to 60,000 coins then to 30,000 / 20,000 / 10,000 / 5,000 / 500 and now 100 coins.”

Sick_Silk connected the original address to the Silk Road via the following bitcointalk thread in which user assortmentofsorts connects the dots to from an address operated by DPR (Dread Pirate Roberts AKA Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road) to the one in the Reddit post over the course of six traced transactions.

[1Referee]

It's getting a bit tiresome seeing these articles pop up.

Imagine one day banks and governments conducting large cross border transactions with Bitcoin and all of a sudden it's global news that a 'mysterious' whale has conducted a large transaction. It's not helping to have them come on board like this. You can't even fart without CCN and thousands of sherlock holmes geeks sharing with the outside world that it happened.

I honestly don't care who or what is moving these values. It's none of our business.

IF these coins are being dumped, be happy that we're getting rid of yet another old hand being able to implode this market at any time of the day. It only makes the market stronger in the long run.

[squatter]

I see this article was published today, but isn't this the same "Silk Road/Gox whale" that everyone's been talking about for weeks? The coin movements go back weeks and the latest Reddit discussion was from 9 days ago. Is there anything new here?

If WizSec says it's a Gox whale, I tend to believe it, and the blockchain activity seems to support that. It looks like a small fraction of those coins were sent to exchanges in late August -- whether they were dumped on the open market, we'll never know. I don't particularly care. Over time, the early whales distribute coins to more and more hands. Like 1Referee said, this is a good thing for the market.

[gentlemand]

I see this article was published today, but isn't this the same "Silk Road/Gox whale" that everyone's been talking about for weeks? The coin movements go back weeks and the latest Reddit discussion was from 9 days ago. Is there anything new here?

If WizSec says it's a Gox whale, I tend to believe it, and the blockchain activity seems to support that. It looks like a small fraction of those coins were sent to exchanges in late August -- whether they were dumped on the open market, we'll never know. I don't particularly care. Over time, the early whales distribute coins to more and more hands. Like 1Referee said, this is a good thing for the market.

Yes. Same one.

WizSec has the final word compared to the other numpties out there as far as I'm concerned.

What doesn't add up is why anyone would sell an amount this large on an exchange. They would get masses of interest from OTC.

[vit05]

It's getting a bit tiresome seeing these articles pop up.

Imagine one day banks and governments conducting large cross border transactions with Bitcoin and all of a sudden it's global news that a 'mysterious' whale has conducted a large transaction. It's not helping to have them come on board like this. You can't even fart without CCN and thousands of sherlock holmes geeks sharing with the outside world that it happened.

I honestly don't care who or what is moving these values. It's none of our business.

IF these coins are being dumped, be happy that we're getting rid of yet another old hand being able to implode this market at any time of the day. It only makes the market stronger in the long run.

It's not a question about volumes being moved. If BTC is used to pay for goods and services, the price would not be changed. But in this case, it is a quite different situation.

For example, let's imagine that tomorrow a set of ships with a few billion of stored oil will emerge. And the owner of them decides to sell everything in a single day in the open market. All market investors will imagine a drop in prices, this is natural.

In the case of Bitcoin, this type of information be public is better for everyone. Because we could anticipate and understand volatility. If the market absorbs such a move without major falls or out of control, this will indicate maturity.

[squatter]

I see this article was published today, but isn't this the same "Silk Road/Gox whale" that everyone's been talking about for weeks? The coin movements go back weeks and the latest Reddit discussion was from 9 days ago. Is there anything new here?

If WizSec says it's a Gox whale, I tend to believe it, and the blockchain activity seems to support that. It looks like a small fraction of those coins were sent to exchanges in late August -- whether they were dumped on the open market, we'll never know. I don't particularly care. Over time, the early whales distribute coins to more and more hands. Like 1Referee said, this is a good thing for the market.

Yes. Same one.

WizSec has the final word compared to the other numpties out there as far as I'm concerned.

What doesn't add up is why anyone would sell an amount this large on an exchange. They would get masses of interest from OTC.

Well, Bitfinex has an OTC trading desk. It's possible the coins were routed to the OTC service. But I don't think Bittrex or Bitmex offer OTC services, which casts doubt on that idea.

In the case of Bitcoin, this type of information be public is better for everyone. Because we could anticipate and understand volatility. If the market absorbs such a move without major falls or out of control, this will indicate maturity.

The situation is a bit more opaque because all we can see is that BTC entered exchanges. On Bitfinex and Bittrex, those BTC could be used to buy altcoins. On Bitfinex, they could be used as leverage to buy BTC. On Bitmex, they could buy BTC or altcoin futures.

We assume the BTC were dumped on the fiat and Tether markets because price went down during the same overall time period. We don't actually know that. People used to look at bitcoin days destroyed and make doomsday predictions after big spikes -- they didn't always play out.

[Xavofat]

IF these coins are being dumped, be happy that we're getting rid of yet another old hand being able to implode this market at any time of the day. It only makes the market stronger in the long run.

You still seem to be acknowledging that if the coins are being dumped they could have a significant impact on the market.  If they could have a significant impact on the market, they're relevant to anyone who owns Bitcoin and it's worth having an article about them.

And who or what is causing this to happen could be relevant as it could indicate whether they could have a further impact.

[gentlemand]

You still seem to be acknowledging that if the coins are being dumped they could have a significant impact on the market.  If they could have a significant impact on the market, they're relevant to anyone who owns Bitcoin and it's worth having an article about them.

And who or what is causing this to happen could be relevant as it could indicate whether they could have a further impact.

There's thousands of them. How could they not have an impact on the market? Or are they the newly launched non invasive type that all the family can dump with no harm?

I think by this point it's a bit pathetic that any movement gets commented on. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want.

[milewilda]

I honestly don't care who or what is moving these values. It's none of our business.

IF these coins are being dumped, be happy that we're getting rid of yet another old hand being able to implode this market at any time of the day. It only makes the market stronger in the long run.

Suppose to say the same thing neither those coins being accumulated on illegal histories then its non of our business and let those people who do love to trace them up do their own job. Even if we do know whose actually holding up those coins then what thing we would achieved? It might give some impact but it would just temporal.Just amazed on how big those bitcoins being stored up for 4 years though.

[Slow death]

Still have not been able to find out who the address is? it's been days since I read this news and as our news channels became detectives, I hoped they would be able to solve that mystery in a few days. But I see that the mystery is still without a solution

Just amazed on how big those bitcoins being stored up for 4 years though.

I would say that is very suspicious.

[1Referee]

Just amazed on how big those bitcoins being stored up for 4 years though.

I would say that is very suspicious.

Why is that suspicious? Isn't it possible for someone to have confidence in Bitcoin?

If BCash wasn't given birth, I by now would have had nearly 4 years worth of coin age on some of my cold wallets as well. With how difficult it is to sell coins without handing over all your personal information to an exchange, I expect the early hodlers to gain more and more coin age until they find a way to comfortably put their coins to work without being taxed.

And yes, I wasn't forced to move my coins, but how can I not when BCash hovers over 0.2BTC. It was a fantastic opportunity for me, plus I didn't want to contribute to BCash's value increasing by keeping my coins untouched. The more people dump their BCash the lower its value becomes. Dump that shit.

[aoluain]

I honestly don't care who or what is moving these values. It's none of our business.

IF these coins are being dumped, be happy that we're getting rid of yet another old hand being able to implode this market at any time of the day. It only makes the market stronger in the long run.

Suppose to say the same thing neither those coins being accumulated on illegal histories then its non of our business and let those people who do love to trace them up do their own job. Even if we do know whose actually holding up those coins then what thing we would achieved? It might give some impact but it would just temporal.Just amazed on how big those bitcoins being stored up for 4 years though.

Whoa that is some accumulation of coins. I find it amazing too how
that wallet has sprang into life. Amazing in a curiosity way its none of
my business though.

It maybe the case that many of the known dormant accounts are only
temporarily dormant with passwords and keys to hand and useable
any time in the future.

Intriguing.

[milewilda]

Just amazed on how big those bitcoins being stored up for 4 years though.

I would say that is very suspicious.

The more people dump their BCash the lower its value becomes. Dump that shit.

You do really like Bcash.Dont you? : )

It maybe the case that many of the known dormant accounts are only
temporarily dormant with passwords and keys to hand and useable
any time in the future.

Intriguing.

No one knows on how many wallets would be like that.The thing here is that if a wallet do moves then lots of us will really be intrigued not on the movement but on whos the real owner.

[1Referee]

You do really like Bcash.Dont you? : )

I love it. It's pest that came into existence due to toxic beings thinking they can just come in and take everything over. BCash is a security leaning on Bitmain's success and financial input. In other words, it's the first corporate attempt to outplay Bitcoin and steal its brand. This is the exact reason it's so important to protect Bitcoin whenever we can and wherever we can.

People don't realize how serious this case is. If Bitcoin ever fails, the entire state of crypto fails (technically altcoins have already failed when it comes to decentralization) because nothing will ever be able to provide you the same comfort of decentralization. For that reason I'll do whatever I can to trash every BCash snake whenever I see one.

[figmentofmyass]

You do really like Bcash.Dont you? : )

I love it. It's pest that came into existence due to toxic beings thinking they can just come in and take everything over. BCash is a security leaning on Bitmain's success and financial input. In other words, it's the first corporate attempt to outplay Bitcoin and steal its brand. This is the exact reason it's so important to protect Bitcoin whenever we can and wherever we can.

honestly, bitcoin stands on its own fundamentals. the market understood the big blocker narrative was bullshit. it understands that bcash is far less secure and has very little developer support. i don't think bitcoin needs our "protection" at all. if it did, this would all be for nothing anyway. bitcoin either stands on its built-in economic incentives, or it fails. i see no alternative. the market either understands value and gravitates towards sound money, or it doesn't. we'll find out. i'm not gonna waste a single ounce of energy on bcash though.

[1Referee]

honestly, bitcoin stands on its own fundamentals. the market understood the big blocker narrative was bullshit. it understands that bcash is far less secure and has very little developer support. i don't think bitcoin needs our "protection" at all. if it did, this would all be for nothing anyway. bitcoin either stands on its built-in economic incentives, or it fails. i see no alternative. the market either understands value and gravitates towards sound money, or it doesn't. we'll find out.

You might not see things as I do, which is totally understandable, but I can't change the way I am in this. I'm probably a bit too emotionally connected to Bitcoin, but I do see it as my duty to prevent anyone from even potentially forming a threat to that what I think is here to serve us freedom in the best possible way.

And yes, BCash has shown its true face and lost the battle to a larger degree, but that doesn't mean I'm done trying to prevent as many people as possible from investing in that garbage. Roger's bitcoin dot com domain and the bitcoin twitter handle are being used to deceive people in the worst possible way. Newbies don't know what's right or wrong, they are sucked into all this due to Roger's anti Bitcoin propaganda campaign.

i'm not gonna waste a single ounce of energy on bcash though.

It doesn't feel as a waste of energy in my case, it fuels my strength to continue doing this.

[BitHodler]

Roger's bitcoin dot com domain and the bitcoin twitter handle are being used to deceive people in the worst possible way.

Worst thing is that Roger is lobbying to have merchants and services drop Bitcoin (can be seen in the videos he uploads on YouTube), where he even tells them that it would be a great publicity stunt for them as well.

Disgusting little rat he is. That once again makes it far more likely that he has been the reason that BitPay lost its mind and tries to turn Bitcoin into the less popular option by charging additional fees and changing the payment UI.