An eight-year Bitcoin holder resumed selling after a two-week pause, depositing 1,176 BTC worth $136.2 million to the Hyperliquid trading platform as Bitcoin tested $116,000 resistance levels.
The whale previously executed one of the largest Bitcoin-to-Ethereum rotations in crypto history, trading 35,991 BTC valued at $4.04 billion for 886,371 ETH worth $4.07 billion.
The renewed selling activity comes as BTC Inc CEO David Bailey claimed earlier this month that two massive whales prevented the cryptocurrency from reaching $150,000, with one whale eliminated and another halfway through liquidations.
Multiple dormant Bitcoin addresses from 2011-2012 have awakened recently, creating selling pressure that contributed to Bitcoin’s struggle to maintain momentum above previous highs.
The whale’s ETH-BTC arbitrage position currently faces losses of approximately 460 BTC worth $53 million if reversed, as the ETH/BTC ratio has remained below 0.05 since July 2024.
Despite Ethereum’s 155% rally since July and new all-time highs near $4,957, the ratio peaked at 0.14 in 2017 and currently sits around 0.0401 – 0.0403.
The Bitcoin OG’s selling strategy involves systematic liquidations across multiple wallets while maintaining substantial reserves.
Lookonchain data reveals the whale still controls 49,634 BTC worth $5.43 billion distributed across four separate addresses following the latest $136 million deposit.
Previous whale activity has shown sophisticated market timing, with one holder selling 24,000 BTC worth $2.7 billion in coordinated transactions that drove Bitcoin from $115,000 to $111,000 within hours.
The sudden liquidation occurred during weekend trading, when thinner volumes amplify the price impacts of large transactions.
Another early adopter rotated 400 BTC in August, worth approximately $45.5 million, into leveraged Ethereum positions using 3x and 10x leverage across four wallets.
The whale opened combined long positions totaling 68,130 ETH worth $295 million, bridging funds back to the Ethereum mainnet after executing spot market swaps.
Dormant wallet activations accelerated throughout September, with addresses inactive since 2011-2013 transferring Bitcoin to exchanges, including Kraken.
One wallet holding 445 BTC made its first transaction in nearly 13 years, while another containing 480 BTC moved funds for the first time since 2012.
David Bailey’s whale elimination theory suggests coordinated selling at specific price levels, with “one for 80k bitcoin and the other for 120k bitcoin.”
Market analysis indicates the first whale completed massive liquidations while the second continues rotating substantial positions into altcoins.
Bitcoin faces mounting technical challenges as whale selling coincides with bearish momentum indicators across multiple timeframes.
The 50-day exponential moving average at 113,465 now acts as resistance, while MACD signals turned negative with bearish crossovers confirming trend deterioration.
September saw US spot Bitcoin ETFs record their first weekly outflows since June, with $126.64 million in net redemptions during August compared to $6 billion inflows in July.
The reversal ended a six-week streak of consistent institutional accumulation as momentum shifted toward Ethereum products.
Ethereum ETFs significantly outperformed Bitcoin funds, attracting nearly $4 billion in August inflows while Bitcoin products recorded $622.5 million in net outflows.
September historically represents Bitcoin’s weakest month, delivering average losses of 3.77% during bull market years and earning the “Rektember” nickname among traders.
Bitcoin closed August at $109,000, marking a 6% monthly decline despite reaching all-time highs above $124,000 earlier in the cycle.
So far, after rising from $111,000 last week to above $115,000, Bitcoin has not been able to break the $116,000 resistance, and this whale activity can impact sentiment even more negatively.
According to the last Bitfinex Alpha, Bitcoin is holding precisely steady between $108,000 and $112,000, with buyers actively defending key support zones while filling the gap created by July’s sharp rally.
However, the exchange acknowledged that the risk of a deeper correction remains, and consolidation appears to be the more likely outcome. September has historically marked a cyclical low for Bitcoin, setting the stage for a stronger Q4 performance.
Amid all these, institutional accumulation persists despite retail liquidations, as corporate Bitcoin holdings have surged above $200 billion across 190 entities.
In fact, according to a Cryptonew report covered earlier this month, businesses across major industries have purchased 1,755 Bitcoin daily (worth $195.2 million), contributing over $1.3 trillion to Bitcoin’s market cap during the past 20 months alone.
