OG bitcoin whale moves remaining 40,191 BTC to Galaxy Digital for potential sale
The address tied to an OG bitcoin whale that woke up after 14 years of dormancy earlier this month moved over $4.8 billion worth of bitcoin to Galaxy Digital.According to data from Arkham Intelligence, address "bc1qs…f4au0" moved 40,191.5 BTC to Galaxy Digital across 15 transactions starting 5:41 p.m. on Thursday. The bitcoin was previously dispersed across four addresses then later consolidated into one. The whale had then transferred this batch of bitcoin to "bc1qs…f4au0" earlier in the day.The OG whale initially moved approximately 80,000 BTC ($9.6 billion) in 10,000 BTC batches to eight new addresses on July 4 when it woke up for the first time since April 2011.On Tuesday, the whale first sent 40,010 BTC to two addresses labeled as Galaxy Digital, according to Arkham. Since then, Galaxy Digital's wallet "bc1q0…pqesl" has moved bitcoin to Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini and other unlabeled addresses. It has not moved bitcoin since the latest transfer from the OG whale, and currently holds 40,288 BTC. Onchain analyst Lookonchain previously said that the bitcoin whale was likely preparing to sell the bitcoin through Galaxy as the cryptocurrency recently renewed its all-time high above $123,000. Galaxy Digital's OTC services offer clients a private alternative for trading large funds, bypassing public exchanges directly.Who is it?The movement in billions after 14 years of dormancy sparked wild speculation around the individual or entity that owns the 80,000 BTC, and the reason for the movement. Some suggested that the bitcoin was owned by Bitcoin Cash evangelist Roger Ver, while others claimed it was Satoshi Nakamoto.However, Coinbase Director Conor Grogan said it's likely that they belong to an early bitcoin miner from the 2011 era when the bitcoin block subsidy was 50 BTC compared to 3.125 BTC today, with far less competition.The Satoshi-era whale's 80,000 BTC, valued at a mere $62,400 in April 2011 when bitcoin traded at $0.78, has surged in the 14 years to $9.6 billion — showing a 15.4 million percent increase.Bitcoin is up 1.64% in the past 24 hours to $120,385, according to The Block's bitcoin price page.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.