‘Small Possibility’ $8.6B Bitcoin Transfer Was a Hack — Says Coinbase Executive

• Coinbase’s Conor Grogan stated that the Bitcoin whale, which transferred 80,009 BTC worth $8.6 billion, happened after the hack of a private address.
• Meanwhile, newer whales have shown a rare pattern of simultaneously realizing $641 million in profits and $1.24 billion in losses.

The massive movement of 80,0000 Bitcoins worth $8.6 billion by a dormant whale from the Satoshi era has stirred up discussions in the crypto community. As many speculate who’s behind this move, Coinbase’s head of product, Conor Grogan, said that there’s enough possibility of a hack behind this whale transfer.

Is Satoshi-Era Bitcoin Whale Wallet Hacked?

In a series of posts on social media, Grogan highlighted unusual activity suggesting that the private keys may have been tested before the full Bitcoin transfer. He pointed to a single Bitcoin Cash (BCH) transaction made 14 hours prior to the BTC movement, stating:

There is a possibility that the owner was testing the private key in a way that wouldn’t get noticed, as BCH isn’t monitored heavily by whale watching services.

Moreover, Grogan further added that although the test transfer happened through just one BTC wallet, the other associated BCH wallets remain untouched. The Coinbase product lead also stated that this is “extreme speculation,” he said the movements are “extremely odd” and warrant scrutiny. “If true (again, I’m speculating on straws here), this would be by far the largest heist in human history,” added Grogan.

Recently, the Bitcoin whale activity saw a major pullback, with the supply held by this cohort dropping to the lowest levels in six years, as mentioned in our previous news article. There has been a decline in holdings among whale wallets—those typically holding over 1,000 BTC—signaling increased caution from market makers.

Furthermore, additional reports also suggested that Bitcoin Jesus, Roger Ver, might be behind the recent Bitcoin whale transfers. Analysts believe that Ver is active once again following his release from prison last month.

Bitcoin Whale Deposits on Rise

Bitcoin whale deposits to crypto exchanges have been on the rise recently. As per data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, a crypto whale deposited 1,550 BTC—worth approximately $167.36 million—into Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The move comes shortly after a Satoshi-era Bitcoin wallet, dormant for 14 years, suddenly became active and transferred 80,009 BTC valued at $8.69 billion. The timing of the whale deposit has sparked speculation within the crypto community, with some suggesting the transfer may have been triggered by concerns over renewed selling pressure from early Bitcoin holders.

Profit-booking by BTC whales has been on the rise in recent days. CryptoQuant analyst Mevsimi highlighted a rare and unusual pattern in recent whale activity: newly emerged Bitcoin whales realized profits exceeding $641 million, while simultaneously incurring losses totaling $1.24 billion, an uncommon occurrence in on-chain data, as reported by CNF.