Is Roger Ver the Satoshi Era Bitcoin Whale Behind $8 Billion BTC Transfer?

With the Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale waking up after 14 years of dormancy and moving over 80,000 Bitcoins worth $8 billion, speculation is ripe that Bitcoin evangelist Roger Ver is behind these transfers. Market speculators also believe that the whale is active once again following his recent release from prison. Amid this massive whale moment, BTC price hasn’t moved much, with a 1% drop in the last 24 hours, now trading at $108,101.

$8.6B Bitcoin Whale Movement Tied to Roger Ver?

After 14 years of dormancy, a Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale woke up, moving a total of 80,000 Bitcoins, worth a massive $8.6 billion, in the last 24 hours. Market speculators believe that this Bitcoin whale is probably early BTC investor Roger Ver.

The Bitcoins in question last moved in May 2011, just months after Ver reportedly entered the Bitcoin space in February 2011. The timing has led analysts to believe that the funds may be linked to him.

Adding to the speculation, Ver was released on bail from a Spanish prison on June 5, shortly before the dormant coins were observed moving. While there is no direct confirmation of Ver’s involvement, 10x Research noted that “he will certainly have billions of dollars worth of Bitcoins”. Roger Ver, often referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus,” was among the first vocal proponents of Bitcoin and a major investor.

Yesterday’s development sent jitters across the entire crypto market, with Bitcoin down by 1%, while altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA), have corrected 2-4%.

Coinbase Product Chief Tosses Probability of Bitcoin Hack

In another speculation, the Coinbase product chief Conor Grogan tosses the possibility of the BTC whale address being hacked, ahead of this massive transfer. In his post on X, Grogan highlighted suspicious activity suggesting the wallet’s private key may have been exposed.

He also stated that before transferring this large number of BTC, the whale initiated a small transaction in Bitcoin Cash (BCH), supposedly a test transaction. Grogan wrote:

“I found a single BCH test transaction from one of the BTC whale clusters 14 hours ago, followed by the full amount. An hour later, the BTC wallets began to move. There is a possibility that the owner was testing the private key in a way that wouldn’t get noticed”.

If Grogan’s claims turn out to be true, this could be the biggest Bitcoin hack in the history of crypto. Despite this massive movement, Bitcoin price is showing limited volatility. As of press time, BTC price is trading 1% down, with daily trading volumes down 11% to $43.35 billion. The trader sentiment remains bearish as BTC futures are down 3% today.