Over the past two weeks, long-term Bitcoin (BTC) whales have cashed out $1.2 billion in profits. According to CryptoQuant, these “old whales” have taken advantage of soaring prices to sell coins they acquired at much lower values, marking an unprecedented profit-taking period in USD terms.
CryptoQuant’s Head of Research, Julio Moreno, highlighted the significance of this activity, noting that the last comparable event occurred in April 2022, when Bitcoin traded at $40,000. During that period, whales realized $683 million in profits in a single day, translating to 17,000 BTC. In contrast, the recent two-week period saw profits of 14,000 BTC but with a much higher USD value.
Bitcoin whales, typically entities holding at least 1,000 BTC (worth approximately $65 million at current prices), are often institutional investors rather than individuals. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju suggested that many of these sales have likely been executed through brokers, which means the market hasn’t yet felt the full impact of this sell-off. However, he cautioned that brokers could deposit BTC to exchanges, potentially affecting market liquidity and prices.
This activity comes at a time when the crypto market is already facing bearish momentum. Bitcoin has dropped 3% over the past week, compounded by $300 million in outflows from Bitcoin ETFs over the last two days.