The 3rd-Largest Bitcoin (BTC) Wallet Bought 1,400 More BTC Last Month

The Bitcoin market is notoriously concentrated among the top holders. The largest wallets hold a huge portion of the supply. And with the increase in institutional adoption, information about some of these top holders is becoming more accessible. 

Firms such as MicroStrategy Inc. MSTR and Tesla Inc. TSLA have amassed billions of dollars of Bitcoin (BTC), which they then report on financial disclosures. This has allowed the public to connect blockchain activity with specific companies, allowing for an unprecedented level of transparency. However, the blockchain still allows for some anonymity, even among some of the largest wallets.

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One notable wallet that is still anonymous first began acquiring Bitcoin in May 2023. The wallet continued to buy tens of thousands of BTC throughout the summer of 2023 and eventually accumulated over 120,000 tokens.  At the time, BTC was trading for around $30,000, so the position was worth around $3.6 billion.

On Jan. 5, the wallet acquired another 10,000 BTC. This transaction, which cost over $300 million, brought the total wallet balance to over $5.5 billion. The timing is notable, as the approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) occurred on Jan. 10 and has served as a huge price catalyst in 2024.

The wallet did not make any notable transactions until March when transactions totaling 7,750 BTC were made. The transactions brought the total value of the portfolio to over $9 billion, which occurred around the time BTC reached new all-time highs (ATHs). 

Finally, in early April, the wallet acquired an additional 1,400 BTC for around $100 million. The recent transactions have allowed the wallet to reach a balance of over 136,000 BTC, currently worth over $9 billion. Of the $9 billion, $5.6 billion is profit. 

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Who owns the wallet? Why have they been accumulating billions in BTC? Let's consider some possibilities.

One of the more interesting theories about the wallet is that it serves as a custodial wallet for a spot Bitcoin ETF. This would make sense, as the wallet began acquiring tokens last year, potentially in anticipation of the approval of the ETFs. Additional transactions in January and the past two months also add to this hypothesis. The wallet's $9 billion in BTC would be enough to support ETFs such as the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF ARKB, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF BITB, VanEck Bitcoin Trust ETF HODL and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF BTCO. 

A less exciting possibility would be that the wallet is simply a large investor. In this case, the investor may have thought that Bitcoin was at relative lows last summer and began buying. While the investment has been very profitable, the size of the wallet and the amount invested signal that it is likely an institution behind the wallet. 

There is a chance that the wallet is from an ETF sponsor, based on the amount and timeline. However, it could also be an individual or an institution that made a timely investment. 

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