Dormant Bitcoin wallet moves $383M after more than 8 years
A Bitcoin wallet that had remained inactive for more than eight years has transferred 5,908 BTC worth about $383 million, reviving another long-dormant holding as traders continue tracking large onchain movements.
- A Bitcoin wallet dormant for more than eight years transferred 5,908 BTC worth about $383 million to a new address.
- Onchain data showed the coins were not sent to a known exchange wallet, leaving the holder’s intentions unclear.
- The transfer followed another dormant whale move earlier this week, keeping large Bitcoin wallet activity in focus.
According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, citing Arkham data, the wallet identified as “138EM…ReyiT” moved the entire 5,908 BTC balance to a new address at 7:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The coins remain in the recipient wallet, with no signs that they have been sent to a cryptocurrency exchange.
Arkham’s data showed the wallet originally received the Bitcoin in December 2017, when BTC traded near $16,800. The holdings were worth about $99.6 million at the time, compared with roughly $383 million at current market prices.
The timing of the original purchase makes the wallet notable. The holder kept the coins through Bitcoin’s nearly 80% decline in 2018, its rally to almost $69,000 in 2021, the subsequent fall to around $15,500 in late 2022, and the record high above $122,000 reached in October 2025, according to market price data. At that peak, the wallet’s balance was worth about $726 million.
While the movement has drawn attention, CoinDesk’s onchain analysis said the Bitcoin was transferred to a newly created, unlabeled address rather than a known exchange deposit address, indicating there is no onchain evidence of an immediate public sale.
The report also noted that the coins moved from a legacy Bitcoin address beginning with “1” to a newer SegWit address beginning with “bc1q.” According to CoinDesk, large holders often reorganize assets to upgrade wallet formats, improve custody, rotate private keys, prepare estate transfers, or arrange over-the-counter transactions that do not reach public exchanges.
Dormant whale activity remains in focus
The latest transfer follows another dormant Bitcoin wallet that became active earlier this week after more than seven years. As previously reported by crypto.news, blockchain intelligence platform Arkham said a wallet moved 2,931 BTC worth about $188 million to a new address after remaining inactive since Bitcoin traded near $6,500.
Although neither transfer has confirmed selling activity, CryptoQuant has reported that whale-sized deposits continue to dominate Bitcoin exchange inflows. Its exchange whale ratio recently stood at 0.99, indicating that the 10 largest transfers accounted for nearly all Bitcoin deposited to exchanges.
According to the firm, elevated readings have historically been associated with higher selling pressure because large deposits are more likely to precede sizable sales.
