Satoshi-Era Bitcoin Whale Dumps $9B in BTC, Market Absorbs Massive Sell-Off Smoothly

A long-dormant Bitcoin wallet from the Satoshi era has sent shockwaves through the crypto market after offloading 80,000 BTC, with the sale facilitated by asset management firm Galaxy Digital. This sale ranks as one of the largest crypto transactions ever, as the market recorded a modest volatility during the trading session.

Galaxy Digital Handles One of Bitcoin’s Largest Sales

On Friday, an early Bitcoin whale pulled off what many dub as one of the largest notional transactions to date, selling 80,000 BTC through Galaxy Digital. Although the asset manager did not disclose details about the sale price, crypto commentators value the transaction at $9 billion based on the current market rates. 

Galaxy Digital confirmed that the sale was part of the investor’s “broader real estate planning strategy.”

This news came as Bitcoin witnessed high price fluctuations during its trading session, briefly touching below $115,000 on Friday.

Galaxy Digital conducted several large transactions throughout the intraday session, reaching nearly $30,000 BTC. Lookonchain noted that most of the transfers were made directly to exchanges.

Reports confirmed that these transactions were linked to a Satoshi-era Bitcoin investor who moved 80,009 BTC from an inactive wallet in early July. As per insights from Lookonchain, these assets were later sent to Galaxy between July 16 and 17.

BTC Holds Strong After $9B Whale Sell-Off, Eyes New Highs

Following its brief dip in the last session, the OG crypto has recovered and is trading at $117,304—up 1.7% at the time of writing. 

According to CoinCodex data, here’s the current BTC price action:

• Market sentiment: Currently bullish, indicating optimism among traders and analysts.
• Fear & Greed Index: Showing a score of 72, which falls in the “Greed” range—suggesting strong buying interest.
• Yearly performance: Bitcoin has gained approximately 75% over the past 12 months.
• Relative strength: It has outperformed 78% of the top 100 crypto assets during the same period.
• Technical indicator: Trading above its 200-day simple moving average, a signal often associated with long-term bullish momentum.
• Short-term trend: Recorded 17 green days in the past month.

Market analyst Jason Williams pointed out that the entire 80,000 BTC sale has already been “fully absorbed by the market.” This means there was enough demand to buy all the Bitcoin without causing a big price drop, something he believes could lead to much higher prices soon.

The FULL 80,000 BTC from ancient Bitcoin whale has been sold by Galaxy, according to press release $9B worth of Bitcoin fully absorbed by the market hahahahahahaha we’re going so much higher lololololol.

Jason Williams, author of Bitcoin Hard Money

Head of Growth at Bitcoin custody firm, Theya Joe Consorti, highlighted how impressively Bitcoin absorbed such large sell-offs without a massive price drop. 

80,000 BTC, over $9 billion, was sold into open market order books, and Bitcoin barely moved

Joe Consorti

Since the turn of the year, Bitcoin has been on an impressive climb, reaching a fresh all-time high of 123,000 on July 14. Strong investment in BTC exchange-traded products, growing adoption by corporate holders, and the pro-Bitcoin U.S. administration have helped fuel this surge. Given its solid market momentum, most Bitcoin price predictions suggest the coin could touch new price levels before the year ends.