An unidentified bitcoin holder has sold a further 2,700 BTC, worth about $211.8m, taking its total disposals over the past three days to 7,700 BTC, valued at approximately $576.6m.
The latest sale came as bitcoin moved close to $80,000, a level it almost reached overnight before falling back to about $77,000. The cryptocurrency rose as high as $79,500 during the week, completing its strongest weekly rally since 2024.
The 2,700 BTC was transferred in a single transaction several hours ago, according to on-chain data. However, such data cannot establish why the coins were sold. It shows that assets have moved and, in many cases, where they were sent, but it does not reveal the holder’s intentions.
Large bitcoin owners, often referred to as whales, frequently use sharp price rises to realise profits. The latest movement may reflect that behaviour, although there is no confirmation that profit-taking was the reason for this particular sale.
So far, the whale’s activity has done little to derail bitcoin’s advance. The asset gained by double digits over the past couple of days, helping it record its strongest weekly performance in years.
Treasury policy helps fuel rally
The recent rise has been linked to an announcement by the U.S. Treasury that it would at least double its long-dated bond buyback operations. The value of each operation is set to increase from $2bn to $4bn, with the change taking effect on 9 September.
The move reduced yields on longer-term Treasury bonds and encouraged investors to consider riskier assets, including bitcoin. With returns from safer fixed-income investments becoming comparatively less attractive, demand for bitcoin increased during the rally.
The latest whale sale represents a change from the buying pattern seen only days earlier. Data reported by Bitcoin.com News showed that large holders had accumulated about 43,000 BTC, worth roughly $2.75bn, over the 60 days ending in mid-August.
That buying period brought an end to several months of consistent whale selling and coincided with bitcoin’s decline towards $60,000. The accumulation was spread across very large holders and mid-sized investors often described as dolphins, helping to create the conditions for the current recovery.
Distribution by major holders has nevertheless continued in parts of the market. A separate whale sold 7,513 BTC, valued at about $486.9m, during a three-week period ending on 9 August.
With bitcoin now testing the area around $80,000, traders are likely to focus on the next movements from large holders as well as the U.S. Treasury’s expanded buyback programme. The Treasury measure will not begin until 9 September, leaving markets to assess whether whale selling continues and whether the recent rally can maintain its momentum before then.
