- Bitcoin dropped over 2% in under 10 minutes on Sunday, sparking debate about whale influence.
- Analyst Willy Woo points to OG Bitcoin whales from 2011 as key players in today’s slow BTC price growth.
- A major whale rotated $2 billion in BTC into Ether (ETH), triggering cascading sell orders.
- ETH fell alongside BTC but recovered half of its losses, with whales staking large portions for the long term.
- Whale trading strategies netted profits of over $185 million, highlighting their outsized impact on markets.
Bitcoin OG Whales Blamed for Market Pressure
Bitcoin’s sudden 2% drop on Sunday left investors scrambling for answers, and according to Bitcoiner Willy Woo, the culprit may be Bitcoin’s oldest whales. Woo explained that early adopters, who bought BTC at $10 or less back in 2011, now hold massive reserves.
“BTC supply is concentrated around OG whales who peaked their holdings in 2011,” Woo wrote on X. “This differential in cost basis, the supply they hold and their rate of selling has profound impacts on how much new capital that needs to come in to lift price.”
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Woo emphasized that it now takes over $110,000 of new capital to absorb every Bitcoin sold by these OG holders, putting intense strain on BTC’s upward momentum.
Bitcoin Whale Rotation Sparks Flash Crash
The weekend flash crash was traced to a whale who rotated more than $2 billion worth of BTC into ETH, resulting in Bitcoin’s market cap plunging by $45 billion. Blockchain data shows the whale transferred 24,000 BTC ($2.7 billion) to decentralized platform Hyperliquid between Aug. 16–24.
Of this, 18,142 BTC worth $2 billion has already been sold, converted into 416,598 ETH. Nearly 275,500 ETH ($1.3 billion) has since been staked, suggesting a strategic long-term pivot into Ethereum.
Whale Strategy Nets $185 Million Profit
This whale’s actions weren’t limited to spot trading. They also opened long positions totaling 135,263 ETH on Hyperliquid, giving them exposure to 551,861 ETH (over $2.6 billion). According to analyst MLM, these positions generated profits of more than $185 million by frontrunning other traders reacting to the whale’s earlier moves.
Crypto researcher Sani further revealed the whale still controls 152,874 BTC across other wallets, much of it inactive until August. These funds originally came from crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi).
Another Whale Joins the BTC-to-ETH Shift
Adding fuel to the trend, another whale sold 670 BTC ($76 million) last Thursday to open a leveraged long position on ETH. This reflects a broader market narrative: major holders increasingly see Ethereum as a stronger short- to mid-term bet.
Since April 9, ETH has climbed 220% from $1,471 to over $4,700, catching up with Bitcoin and Solana, which initially led this bull cycle.
Bitcoin’s reliance on OG whales poses a unique challenge for price growth, as their selling creates heavy supply pressure. Meanwhile, their pivot to Ethereum highlights a shifting narrative where ETH’s staking ecosystem and trading opportunities attract capital away from BTC.
For investors, this dynamic underscores the importance of monitoring whale activity, as a few large moves can still shake the entire market.
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