On Oct.26 at 14:59 UTC, an anonymous crypto holder transferred $1,153,612,284 worth of Bitcoin (88,857 BTC) to an unknown destination. On-chain data from blockchain.com confirmed the coins in block 654,364.
The move marks the largest dollar value BTC transaction in history, surpassing the previous record set at $1.1billion (161,500 BTC) in April 2020.
Interestingly, the whale who completed today’s historic BTC transaction only paid $3.54 in fees, highlighting how efficient the BTC blockchain is as compared to the traditional banking system. The user who set the previous transaction record of $1.1 billion coins also paid a minimal fee of only $0.68.
Although the latest transfer of over $1.15 billion in BTC is the largest dollar value Bitcoin transaction, it still pales in comparison to the largest amount of coins ever moved.
Back in November 2011, an unknown crypto holder completed a 550,000 BTC transaction worth $1.32M at the time. That coin haul would be worth an approximated $6.4 billion at current market prices.
Was Coinbase Behind the Historic Transaction?
Due to the anonymous nature of the BTC blockchain, it is difficult for the crypto community to know who was behind the latest transaction.
However, one YouTube analyst, who was among the first to break the news about the transfer, speculates that an exchange was responsible for moving the coins.
Back in April, reports emerged that Bitfinex exchange had moved the record-setting 161,500 BTC at the time when it had to refill its hot wallet.
And now, it appears that Coinbase custody could have set the latest record for the largest fiat value transaction. As per the latest data from on-chain analytics site CrystalBlockchain, the anonymous user sent BTC coins from an address labeled “Xapo Bitcoin wallet.”
On Aug. 15, 2019, Coinbase exchange reported in a blog post that it had acquired Xapo’s institutional business. That acquisition made Coinbase the largest crypto custodian by assets under custody (AUC).
Given the name of the sender address for today’s transaction, it is likely that the $1.15 bln in BTC originated from the US-based crypto exchange.
Bitcoin Price Holds Steady
BTC tanked to the $11K zone soon after the transfer amid fears that the anonymous user would dump the coins and short the market.
However, such fears were quickly quelled, and BTCUSD rebounded sharply to reclaim the $13K level of support.
BTCUSD chart By TradingView
Today’s massive transfer highlights the influence whales have on the crypto markets. On Oct. 20, 2020, the number of BTC whales reached a new all-time high, with over 2,178 addresses holding at least 1000 coins.