Ancient whale sells $1.7 billion Bitcoin via Galaxy as price dips to $115k

Galaxy Digital wallets have routed over 17,000 BTC to major exchanges within the past 24 hours, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

The transactions, totaling more than $1.7 billion at current prices, involved deposits to Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitstamp, following a wave of internal transfers from the firm’s primary custodian address.

Between July 15 and 17, Galaxy Digital’s Bitcoin holdings rose from approximately $850 million to over $6 billion. This increase followed the consolidation of 80,000 BTC from legacy wallets inactive since 2011. Some of these wallets were identified earlier this month by CryptoSlate as having made 14,000,000% profit.

On-chain data indicates the bulk of the funds arrived in a handful of high-volume transactions, including a single 10,000 BTC deposit, which analysts associate with a custodial arrangement. Arkham data shows that the newly received Bitcoin remained static for several days before Galaxy began transferring it to exchange wallets.

Per Cauê Oliveira of BlockTrends, institutional selling activity became detectable as early as Thursday morning. Their analysis pointed to a net outflow of 40,000 BTC from large player wallets over seven days, accompanied by minimal book liquidity. The firm warned of potential downward pressure should further distribution take place in thin order books.

Bitcoin’s price has fallen approximately 2.5% in the last 24 hours, trading around $115,600 at time of writing. CryptoSlate data shows daily volume above $94 billion, suggesting traders are responding to increased sell-side pressure.

On-chain analysts noted that a portion of Galaxy’s outgoing Bitcoin is reaching exchange hot wallets in staggered batches, typically a pattern associated with distribution rather than custody migration.

The origin wallets, active prior to 2012 and dormant until this month, began transferring the 80,000 BTC on July 4. The final tranche, over 40,000 BTC, arrived on July 18. While the receiving addresses point to Galaxy, the firm has yet to confirm the beneficiary or the transaction’s purpose.

Galaxy Digital frequently handles assets on behalf of institutional clients. The nature of the recent flows suggests a strategic unwind is underway. Still holding more than 60,000 BTC, the firm has the option to continue offloading assets or return them to cold storage. Analysts remain focused on on-chain indicators to determine whether the current selling trend will persist.

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