Whale activity in Bitcoin has intensified over the past 24 hours, with significant transfers to exchanges pointing to continued selling pressure. On-chain data reveals that several large holders, often referred to as “whales,” moved more than $100 million worth of Bitcoin to various exchanges. These transfers are widely interpreted as a strong indication that these investors may be preparing to sell their assets on the open market.
Whale transfers and exchange inflows take center stage
Following a more than 20% decline in June, Bitcoin has entered July still searching for a bottom as new signs of selling activity emerge. Address clusters linked to Ireland’s criminal investigations, mining company Riot Platforms, and other major investors sent sizable amounts of BTC to exchanges. These movements have further highlighted the fragile state of the market.
One wallet associated with investor Tim Draper transferred 150.84 BTC to Coinbase, a move calculated to have resulted in an approximate $2.57 million loss after holding the tokens for about a year. Tim Draper, a prominent venture capitalist, had previously made headlines with his $250,000 price target for Bitcoin.
The transfer of 150.84 BTC from a wallet linked to Tim Draper to Coinbase demonstrated that even long-held positions can be sold at a loss in current market conditions.
Bitcoin kicked off July at a 21-month low, briefly dipping as far as $57,950. Adding to the pressure, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $4.51 billion in outflows during June. The “exchange whale ratio,” which measures the share of large transfers in total inflows to exchanges, also reached a local high of 0.69, underscoring heightened activity by major players.
Glossary: Exchange whale ratio is an on-chain metric reflecting the weight of the largest wallets’ deposits within total crypto inflows to exchanges. A rising ratio may signal that big holders are positioning themselves to sell.
| Indicator or institution | Data |
|---|---|
| Whale transfers | Over $100 million in BTC in 24 hours |
| Bitcoin price | Dropped to $57,950 |
| US spot Bitcoin ETF outflows | $4.51 billion in June |
| Exchange whale ratio | 0.69 |
Mining companies continue gradual BTC sales
Riot Platforms has been gradually liquidating its Bitcoin reserves to fund a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. Similarly, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) sold 15,133 BTC earlier this year for around $1.1 billion. Core Scientific eliminated 1,900 BTC in January and announced plans to sell its remaining holdings by the end of the first quarter.
Sales by Riot Platforms, MARA, and Core Scientific show that mining companies are taking a more active approach to managing Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Irish-linked wallets spark renewed interest
Back in late 2011 and early 2012, Clifton Collins, a former beekeeper from Galway, Ireland, reportedly used proceeds from illegal cannabis cultivation to purchase approximately 6,000 BTC. He distributed his holdings across 12 wallets, each containing 500 BTC, and wrote the private keys on paper, hiding them inside a fishing tackle box’s aluminum lid.
After Collins was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to five years in prison, his property was vacated and the equipment was reportedly sent abroad for further analysis. On July 2 and 3, the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau confirmed a third seizure: another 500 BTC, valued at roughly €27 million ($30.91 million), was identified as the proceeds of crime.
On-chain data shows that in March, 500 BTC was deposited to Coinbase Prime; in May, another 500 BTC was moved through a wallet linked to Wintermute. The latest transfer follows the same pattern, with all these wallets previously dormant for nearly a decade until 2026.
