The whale awakening: Why dormant crypto giants are suddenly back in motion

Dormant Bitcoin giants have awakened. Onchain data shows aging wallets reactivating, reshaping supply dynamics across the network.

In July 2025, analysts watched eight Satoshi-era wallets, each holding 10,000 BTC, move their coins for the first time in 14 years.

In total, 80,000 Bitcoin (BTC) (about $8.6 billion at the time) shifted out of long-dormant addresses in a single clustered episode of movement observed onchain. Blockchain sleuths traced these coins back to 2011, when they were acquired for under $210,000 in total, implying a return of nearly 4,000,000%.

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