OG Bitcoin whale dumps 36K BTC: ‘Going through growing pains’

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin dropped below $113K after a dormant whale sold billions, stoking fears that old holders are dragging the market. 

Bitcoin [BTC] faced intense selling pressure over the weekend after a long-dormant whale unloaded 24,000 BTC, worth roughly $2.7 billion, in a single move.

The massive sell-off triggered a sharp $4,000 drop, pushing the price down to the critical $113K support zone.

OG Bitcoin whale dumps Bitcoin

On-chain analyst Sani noted that the stash, untouched for more than five years, was fully liquidated and sent to Hyperunite, marking one of the largest individual dumps in recent memory.

On the 24th of August alone, the whale offloaded another 12,000 BTC to Hyperunite and, according to market observers, is still actively selling.

Prominent Bitcoiner Willy Woo linked the sluggish pace of Bitcoin’s current cycle to these massive whale movements. He argued that OG whales, who built stacks in 2011 at <$10 per BTC, now controlled supply.

Woo stressed that $110,000+ in new capital was needed to absorb each BTC they sold. He added that this drag wasn’t just about volume but also about cost basis, since these holders enjoyed 10,000x gains.

“You can look at this as BTC going through growing pains until these 10,000x gain investors are absorbed.”

How did BTC’s price react?

The latest sell-off coincided with reports of a longtime Bitcoin whale rotating over $2 billion from BTC into Ethereum [ETH]. In fact, that is a shift many link to Bitcoin’s $45 billion market cap plunge on the 24th of August.

As expected, the move triggered a cascade of sell orders, intensifying downward pressure. At press time, BTC traded at $111,742.53, down 2.83% after briefly dipping near $110,500, per CoinMarketCap.

Meanwhile, ETH traded at $4,627.68 after a drop of 2.96% in the past 24 hours.

Adding to the momentum, technicals like RSI and MACD also confirmed bearish momentum, with no signs of reversal.

However, not everyone agrees that long-time holders are driving the market downturn.

Not everyone is riding the same boat

A Bitcoin advocate known by the pseudonym Parman pushed back on the idea that early adopters, particularly those who accumulated coins in 2011, are actively offloading.

According to him, these “OG” holders are far less likely to liquidate substantial portions of their stacks.

“They’ll sell a little, maybe 10 mil, tops. There aren’t enough of them for this to make a big impact.”