A Bitcoin wallet that had been dormant for three years transferred its entire balance of approximately 6,500 BTC, valued at $694 million, on Oct. 17. According to on-chain analysts, the wallet is linked to Alexander Bilyuchenko, a Russian national and alleged co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.
The transaction, recorded at 16:34 UTC, moved the funds from the primary wallet to two new, unidentified destination addresses, according to blockchain data. The sending address had originally received the Bitcoin on Nov. 23, 2022, from another wallet identified as belonging to Bilyuchenko.
Bilyuchenko, who also used the alias Ivanov, is currently on the US Secret Service’s most-wanted list for his role in operating the defunct BTC-e exchange. US authorities shut the platform down in 2017, accusing it of facilitating billions of dollars in money laundering for cybercriminals worldwide.
According to a 2023 indictment from the US Department of Justice, Bilyuchenko conspired to launder at least 647,000 Bitcoin stolen during the historic hack of the Mt. Gox exchange. The legal actions culminated in Alexander Vinnik’s 2017 arrest. Vinnik was Bilyuchenko’s partner and the public operator of BTC-e.
The recent fund movement comes just months after Vinnik was released from US custody and returned to Russia in a high-profile prisoner swap in February 2025. This follows a pattern of previous BTC-e wallet activity where large sums of crypto were moved following significant developments involving the exchange’s former operators. The specific motivation for moving the funds at this time remains unknown.
Alleged Ties to Russian Intelligence
The case has wider implications due to Bilyuchenko’s reported connections to Russian state actors. According to case documents and reports from 2019, Bilyuchenko testified that he was forced to transfer crypto assets worth $450 million from WEX, the successor exchange to BTC-e. Details surrounding Bilyuchenko’s alleged FSB transfer claimed the funds were moved to an account for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The $694 million transfer occurs amid weakness in the overall digital asset market. The digital asset market is currently experiencing significant turbulence, with Bitcoin plunging to the $105,000 level. The sharp price drop coincided with a massive deleveraging event, as over $1 billion in Bitcoin and other crypto positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours.
This cascade of liquidations has intensified selling pressure, confirming a prevailing bearish trend across the market. According to technical indicators, the sentiment for Bitcoin is negative on the 1-hour, 4-hour, and 1-day charts, signaling sustained weakness.
