Early Bitcoin Investor Sells 1,000 BTC Bought in 2013 for $71.6M as Whale Activity Surges

On March 18, a major early Bitcoin holder moved approximately 1,000 BTC worth $71.6 million to the Binance exchange. The transaction was flagged by on-chain analysts at EmberCN.

A 13-Year Position Yielding Hundreds of Millions

According to EmberCN's analysis, this investor originally accumulated 5,000 BTC back in November 2013 at a price of $332 per coin. The selling activity began in November 2024, and by now, a total of 3,500 BTC worth approximately $332 million have been transferred to Binance.

"An ancient whale who accumulated 5,000 BTC thirteen years ago sold another 1,000 BTC ($71.57M) seven hours ago. The average selling price is approximately $94,786, with realized gains of $330M" — 余烬 (@EmberCN), original post

The whale still holds 1,500 BTC valued at around $106.8 million. With an average exit price of $94,786 against a $332 entry, this represents one of the most profitable long-term positions ever tracked on a public blockchain.

Hourly BTC/USDT chart on Binance. Source: TradingView

Another OG Investor Offloads Large BTC Holdings

Separately, analytics platform Lookonchain detected another early Bitcoin investor selling 650 BTC worth $46.3 million.

"Bitcoin OG Owen Gunden, who previously sold 11K $BTC ($1.12B), sold another 650 $BTC ($46.3M) 10 hours ago" — Lookonchain (@lookonchain), original post

Including prior transactions, this wallet has sold roughly 11,000 BTC totaling approximately $1 billion. Analysts have linked the wallet to Owen Gunden, though no independent verification exists. Such attributions have repeatedly sparked debate within the community.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $69,800, down 5.5% over the past 24 hours.

Why This Matters

Systematic profit-taking by long-term holders — investors who haven't touched their coins for over a decade — is widely viewed as a bearish signal. When multiple OG wallets begin liquidating simultaneously, it increases sell-side pressure and can weigh on short-term price action. The convergence of these large sales comes amid broader market weakness, with BTC already down over 5% on the day.

Ethereum Whales Re-Enter the Market

The Ethereum market also saw significant whale activity on March 18. An unknown large investor purchased 50,706 ETH at an average price of $2,201, spending 111.62 million USDT through two addresses. The wallet had been dormant for seven months.

"A mysterious whale returned after 7 months of inactivity and spent 111.62M $USDT to buy back 50,706 $ETH at an average price of $2,201. 1 year ago, this whale sold 28,683 $ETH at an average price of $3,892 for 111.62M $USDT" — Lookonchain (@lookonchain), original post

The funds for this purchase came from a sale one year prior: in March 2025, the same whale sold 28,683 ETH at $3,892 each, receiving exactly 111.62 million USDT. The investor effectively executed a textbook sell-high-buy-low strategy, nearly doubling their ETH holdings in the process.

On March 16, Lookonchain analysts also reported that former ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees had allegedly purchased 24,968 ETH worth $56.5 million using two wallets. Voorhees denied any involvement.

"not me" — Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees), original post

Ethereum was trading around $2,700 at publication time, down 6.4% over the past day. Earlier in March, investment bank Citigroup revised its annual Bitcoin price target from $143,000 down to $112,000, while cutting its Ethereum forecast from $4,304 to $3,175.