The Bitcoin (BTC) network flexed its true capacity this Wednesday, as it saw a peak of value transferred. Just three blocks carried around 1.2 million BTC, with the total fee less than 1 BTC.
The dollar amount estimated for the record move was around $8.9 billion, an amount that measures the strength of exchanges as they move funds to new cold wallets.
https://twitter.com/3commas_io/status/1202543412525883392
The Bitcoin network usually carries between $300,000 and $1 billion on a usual day, with around 300,000 transactions. But network activity is no measure for the value transfer.
The coins moved exceed even some of the biggest whale wallets. Just one block moved above 900,000 BTC - showing it is theoretically possible to move all the coins belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto in one 10-minute block. Despite the volatile price, BTC also offers the opportunity to move significant funds without resorting to banks.
A day after the large-scale transfers, there are no reports of hacks or other suspicious movements of funds.
The transfers became a factor in the boost of BTC prices on Wednesday, as BTC hiked above $7,700 for a brief period.
https://twitter.com/ALTSTREND/status/1202348331520942082
So far, BTC prices remain stable, with no signs of massive sell-offs or dumping. BTC traded at $7,412.57 around the time of US markets opening on Thursday.
BTC whales may not affect the price as much as in the past, as futures markets allow for direct speculation, even without BTC ownership. Actual BTC is showing more holding behavior, as about 6.7% of coins are stored on exchanges, and other custodial cold storage services.
https://twitter.com/DR6am/status/1202410405819228161
The record wallet action also created a false excitement on the markets, briefly increasing BTC volatility.
https://twitter.com/JimRushbrook/status/1202333350037463058
The BTC markets on smaller crypto exchanges, however, may not be able to absorb all of whales selling. Still, it is possible to place smaller amounts of coins without too much slippage.
