Bitcoin Miner Moves 50 BTC After 14 Years, Miners Preparing for Selloff?

With just four days left into Bitcoin halving, Bitcoin miners have turned active once again. In the latest development, a dormant Bitcoin miner wallet has turned active after nearly 14 years. Reports suggest that BTC miners might be gearing up for a sell-off after the halving event.

Bitcoin Miner Transfers 50 BTC to Coinbase

In a surprising development, a long-dormant miner wallet has resurfaced after nearly 14 years of inactivity. The wallet, which earned 50 BTC from mining on April 23, 2010, recently deposited the entirety of its holdings—equivalent to approximately $3.28 million—to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

This revelation has sparked the interest of the crypto community, as the miner had held onto the BTC acquired over a decade ago until now. The wallet’s address, 15sxzZ4QSaoiMo5KYH9ab4xQj34yeJmKgb, has attracted attention as analysts and enthusiasts speculate about the motives behind this sudden movement of funds.

A miner wallet woke up after being dormant for nearly 14 years and deposited 50 $BTC($3.28M) to #Coinbase 5 mins ago.

The miner earned 50 $BTC from mining on Apr 23, 2010, and has been holding it to this day.

Address:
15sxzZ4QSaoiMo5KYH9ab4xQj34yeJmKgb pic.twitter.com/DRw9U5Xy8N

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 15, 2024

In a research report last week, Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, stated that Bitcoin miners are gearing up to sell $5 billion worth of their Bitcoin holdings after the upcoming halving event.

Following the Bitcoin halving event, miners are likely to commence selling portions of their holdings due to increased mining difficulty and financial requirements.

According to projections by 10x Research, a six-month period of stagnation is anticipated post the Bitcoin halving in April. This phase could pose significant challenges for the crypto market as “Bitcoin miners gear up to liquidate substantial portions of their BTC reserves.”

Thielen suggests that the accumulation of inventories during the bullish market sentiment in recent months disrupts the market dynamics. Traditionally, leading up to the Bitcoin halving event, expected around April 20, miners tend to amass their BTC holdings, resulting in a supply-demand imbalance and subsequent upward pressure on Bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin Halving: Sell The News Event?

Several market analysts believe that the upcoming Bitcoin halving event could be a sell-the-news event, especially with the dumping by the Bitcoin miners. Furthermore, recent research reports suggest that the Bitcoin mining industry could face losses to the tune of $10 billion following the halving event.

The upcoming Bitcoin halving will reduce the miner rewards from 6.25 BTC now, to 3.125 BTC post halving. On the other hand, the mining costs will also rise significantly for Bitcoin miners. It will be interesting to see whether the expected surge in the Bitcoin price compensates for the mining losses.