NEW YORK, Jan 19, 2026, 03:14 (EST)
- A Bitcoin holder, inactive for a long stretch, offloaded another 500 BTC—roughly $47.8 million—as part of a slow unwind.
- Trackers report that about half of the wallet’s 5,000 BTC holding has shifted to Binance since late 2024.
- Bitcoin stayed in the low-$90,000s amid growing tariff concerns that sparked a wider risk-off sentiment.
A Bitcoin “whale” — a term for a major holder — offloaded another 500 bitcoins, valued at about $47.77 million, sending them to Binance, on-chain analyst EmberCN reported. The same address began accumulating back in November 2013, building a 5,000-BTC stash. Since November 2024, it has transferred around 2,500 BTC to Binance, netting approximately $260 million in gains, the analyst added. 1
Bitcoin’s price hovered near $92,531 during London morning trading, where it remains vulnerable to leverage-fueled swings. The recent drop came after new tariff threats, wiping out roughly $790 million in bullish bets within 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data cited by Business Standard. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, said traders are eyeing $90,000 as the next level if current support gives way. Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM, called the selloff “more a risk-off move than anything crypto-specific.”
The whale’s movement has been deliberate. It’s been shifting 250 to 500 BTC per transaction, splitting deposits into at least 10 transfers headed to Binance over roughly five months, Benzinga reported. Traders often see this as a tactic to avoid shaking the market. Benzinga estimated the overall sell-off brought in around $265 million, exiting at an average price of $106,164. The wallet still holds close to 2,500 BTC. 2
AMBCrypto suggested the on-chain activity paints a picture less of panic selling and more of old supply being taken up. It noted Coin Days Destroyed — which weights transactions by how long coins stayed dormant — dropped to around 9.96 million after last year’s surge. The Exchange Whale Ratio hovered near 0.657, indicating large players account for a significant chunk of exchange inflows. Data from mid-January also showed institutions scooping up 30,000 BTC, exceeding new supply from miners. 3
The tape remains volatile. LiveMint noted bitcoin dropped as much as 3.6% below $92,000, with ether down 4.9% and Solana off 8.6%. Investors pulled back toward safer bets amid tariff news. 4
But the whale isn’t finished yet, which keeps the pressure on. Whale Alert flagged that selling more of the large remaining holdings around the $100,000 mark could push prices down further. That’s partly because transfers to exchanges are usually seen as a signal coins might be offloaded rather than held. 5
Here’s another angle: a few analysts say crypto just trails other risk assets when macro conditions sour. “The crypto market remains relatively weak compared to other asset classes,” noted Min Jung, a researcher at Presto Research, as reported by KuCoin. 6
Bitcoin moves around the clock, and large wallets are visible in real time, turning what might be routine transfers into newsworthy moments. So far, the market reaction has been subdued—but that quiet hinges on whether the next batch remains small.
