Bitcoin’s Phantom Whale From 2010 Resurfaces With a 2,000 BTC Transfer

On Nov. 14, 2024, a mysterious mega whale, tracked by our newsdesk since 2020, splashed back onto the scene by shifting an impressive 40 block rewards from 2010—a total of 2,000 BTC. This rare transaction, the first of its kind in well over a decade, has onchain watchers buzzing as this major holder once again moves a hefty stack of bitcoin.

Silent Giant Strikes Again: 2010 Mega Whale Makes Another Calculated Move

Earlier this week, Bitcoin.com News highlighted the recent movements of dormant bitcoin that have stirred up November so far. Then on Thursday, Nov. 14, at block height 870,329, a shadowy mega whale made waves by shifting 2,000 BTC, valued at $175.61 million, with each BTC trading at $87.8K at the time of transfer. This stash is particularly notable—not just for its size but for its age—as these coins date back to block rewards mined in 2010, untouched until now.

A visual perspective of the 2,000 BTC spend among thousands of sleeping bitcoins mapped on theholyroger.com.

The recent movement was first spotted by btcparser.com, showing all 40 wallets as unique Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) addresses, which pooled the funds into a single Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) address. The transaction followed the same pattern the mega whale has used before, with no attempt at privacy. Blockchair scored the transfers zero out of 100 on privacy due to factors like matched addresses and a full balance transfer, or “send everything” approach.

Blockchair’s privacy tool did not give the transfer a good score but this is typical of this whale and when it surfaces it is known.

This whale’s last move was on May 22, 2024, when it also shifted 2,000 BTC. Typically, this entity transfers 20 block rewards or 1,000 BTC at a time, making the 2,000-BTC moves relatively rare. Our team has tracked this whale for four years, and it has moved thousands of BTC during that time. So far this year, it has surfaced five times, shifting a total of 9,000 bitcoin from 2010.

Before this recent event and the May transfer, the same whale made appearances on March 26, March 5, and March 3, 2024. One thing’s certain: this whale definitely has a method to its madness. This latest movement by the elusive whale highlights a methodical approach that has persisted through time, with large transfers that have periodically stirred onchain observers.

While the whale’s motivations remain opaque, its consistent pattern of activity—from clustered dormant block rewards to a strategic shift toward P2SH addresses—hints at calculated intentions beyond anyone’s guess. Whether signaling a shift in strategy or simply reasserting its presence, this whale’s actions are a reminder of the unseen forces that quietly but profoundly shape the crypto ecosystem.