A major Bitcoin holder, known as a “whale” in cryptocurrency circles, has sold off 670.1 Bitcoin valued at approximately $76 million and redirected the proceeds into large long positions on 68,130 Ethereum worth about $295 million, signaling a potential shift in strategy from Bitcoin to its top rival amid ongoing market fluctuations.
The transaction, executed through the decentralized finance platform Hyperliquid, involved depositing the Bitcoin into four wallets before opening the Ethereum longs, according to data tracked by on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. The whale originally acquired 14,837 Bitcoin — now worth $1.69 billion — seven years ago in 2018 from exchanges HTX and Binance, when Bitcoin traded at around $7,242 per coin.
This move comes as Bitcoin has surged roughly 1,400% since 2018, prompting some early adopters to cash out or diversify. The wallet’s reactivation after years of dormancy mirrors patterns seen among other original Bitcoin holders, or “OG whales.” For instance, another dormant wallet transferred 40,192 Bitcoin valued at $4.75 billion in July, consolidating funds into a new address in what analysts suggested could precede further sales, as reported by The Block.
Hyperliquid, a zero-gas-fee Layer-1 blockchain designed for perpetual futures trading, enabled the seamless execution of these trades without transaction costs, underscoring its rising prominence in DeFi ecosystems, per details on CoinMarketCap.
Analysts view the whale’s pivot as a speculative wager on Ethereum‘s growth potential, potentially challenging Bitcoin’s long-standing dominance supported by its fixed 21 million coin supply cap. However, such bets carry risks in a volatile market where Bitcoin remains the benchmark asset.
The cryptocurrency market has seen heightened activity from early miners and holders capitalizing on price gains, with similar wallet reactivations fueling speculation about broader sell-offs or portfolio rebalancing into altcoins like Ethereum.
Neither the whale’s identity nor immediate market impacts were disclosed, but the trades highlight ongoing dynamics between Bitcoin’s stability and Ethereum’s innovation-driven appeal.
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