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Silk Road Sell-Off? $800M Bitcoin Wallet Sees Mysterious Movement

Wilma Woo | Sep 03, 2018 | 09:00

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Bitcoin community members continue to piece together the story behind a huge wallet containing over 111,000 BTC ($802 million) — which suddenly became active after over four years.

Coins Go To Bitfinex, Binance

The results of multiple analyses by Reddit user u/sick_silk reveal the owner of the wallet, which first appeared in May 2014 with a balance of 111,114.615 BTC ($802.4 million), has begun “actively” moving coins to destinations including exchanges.

Of the original hoard, 11,114 BTC ($80.3 million) has transferred to a Bitfinex wallet, while another 4421 BTC ($32 million) has gone to Binance. 

“This represents 14% of the original funds and more than $110 (million),” the user notes.

As commentators consider whether the fresh activity marks the start of a sell-off of the giant stash of bitcoin, others continue to examine the origin of the funds and the possible identity of the wallet’s owner.

Several theories devised by u/sick_silk remain open, including links to the now-defunct Dark Web marketplace Silk Road, a Mt. Gox cold storage wallet, and self-confessed Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Wright.

The wallet could also belong to an anonymous major bagholder.

Bitcoin Markets Rise

As Bitcoinist has reported, Bitcoin markets had traditionally tanked as a result of large chunks of funds being traded for fiat currency.

Mt. Gox, which continues to process refund requests from users who lost coins in the 2014 hack, had begun a round of huge sell-offs from November 2017 to reimburse creditors — a policy which has now ended.

At the same time, the wallet analysis came to light as fresh controversy swirled around Wright and a handful of other cryptocurrency industry figures regarding claims he is Bitcoin creator Nakamoto.

For now, attention appears to be focusing on Silk Road, while the possibility of the wallet’s owner selling large amounts of Bitcoin failed to shake market confidence over the weekend. BTC/USD conversely climbed to hold above $7200, its highest price in almost a month. 

What do you think about the 110,000 BTC Bitcoin Wallet? Let us know in the comments below! 

Images courtesy of Bitcoinist archives, Shutterstock.