Altcoin News: Bitcoin Whale Is Moving BTC Worth More Than $1.3 Billion!

July 31, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

A huge crypto whale moved 142,323 BTC and caused a stir. The moving volume was about 0.8 percent of all BTCs in circulation.

A massive uproar was caused when it was discovered that a giant whale moved 142,323 BTC (more than $1.3 billion) on July 29. The news that Larry Cermak, the research director of The Block, has spread on Twitter has been making a living like a wildfire, leaving many users wondering what might be causing the movement.

At current market prices, the transaction volume was well over $1.3 billion, equivalent to around 0.8 percent of all BTCs in circulation. The transaction did not look real, which led many to believe that such a large amount of Bitcoin could only be moved by Satoshi Nakamoto himself.

Is wallet provider Xapo behind the transaction?

Another transaction of around 50,000 BTC was considered to be contiguous, although it took place a few hours earlier. This means that just under 200,000 BTC were moved on a single day.

Further reviews revealed that a provider of crypto wallets called Xapo, which was acquired by Coinbase earlier this year, is most likely behind the transaction.

According to Su Zhu, CEO of Three Arrows Capital, Xapo is holding around 700,000 BTC and the transaction is most likely related to Coinbase’s acquisition of the custody business.

Many users pointed out that a “good part” of these Bitcoins has not been moved, at least since 2016, with much of the funding since 2015 inactive. As a result, many questioned what the company intended to do — some speculated that Xapo was about to empty its custody accounts when the Coinbase acquisition was completed. Others said that it should be a cause for concern, as some of these Bitcoins could end up as sell orders on the market.

Author: Marko Vidrih