TLDR
- A Glassnode chart shows a high density of BTC transactions exceeding $100 million and $500 million.
- These sales originate from wallets inactive for over seven years, belonging to early investors.
- While some see risk, other analysts define it as “Bitcoin’s IPO,” a transfer to new investors.
The cryptocurrency market is now facing a sharp correction after experiencing an incredible boom following Donald Trump’s election in the U.S. and the approval of multiple ETFs. After Bitcoin (BTC) reached an all-time high of $126,198.07 in early October, the price has pulled back below the psychological support of $100,000, partly due to macroeconomic uncertainty generated by the global tariff war.
Amidst this volatility, a significant phenomenon is occurring on the blockchain: the ecosystem’s oldest and largest investors are moving their chips.
Crypto analyst Charles Edwards recently shared a Glassnode chart on the X platform that reveals an unmistakable trend: Bitcoin whales are selling their holdings that they had kept inactive since before 2018.
These investors, who have held their assets for more than seven years, are taking advantage of the high prices in 2025 to realize substantial profits.
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The chart is revealing. It shows a sharp increase in the second half of the year in massive transactions, represented by orange bars (movements over $100 million) and red bars (over $500 million). The origin of these transactions from wallets inactive for so long suggests they belong to the digital asset’s first adopters.
Although it is difficult to determine if these are individuals, early mining pools, or institutional players, the volume of the operations—exceeding $500 million—indicates that several billionaires are among the sellers. This profit-taking by Bitcoin’s “OGs” (original investors) adds considerable selling pressure to the current market.
However, not all interpretations of this trend are bearish. Mark Jeffrey, a partner at Bittensor Fund, has described this moment as “Bitcoin’s IPO.” According to this view, the fact that Bitcoin whales are shedding their holdings is not an apocalypse, but a necessary transfer of wealth.
Early investors are ceding their positions to a new generation of traders and institutions, allowing for greater distribution of the asset and a new phase of price discovery.
