- Decoding netflows
- Significance of whale moves
A “Satoshi-era” miner has just moved 2,000 Bitcoin, according to recent data provided by Julio Moreno, head of research at cryptocurrency analytics firm CryptoQuant.
As noted by Moreno, this is the first significant activity from this cohort of ancient holders since November 2024.
“Historically, Satoshi-era miners move their Bitcoin at key inflection points,” Moreno said.
Decoding netflows
The term “Satoshi-era” typically refers to those who produced their coins when Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive creator of the original cryptocurrency, was still active on public forums.
Back then, these were mined on simple CPUs, and BTC was not worth much.
Most coins from this era are considered “lost” or “frozen.” Hence, instances when whales make such sudden splashes attract a lot of social media attention.
The chart provided by Moreno shows the “netflow” of Satoshi-era coins. It measures the difference between coins entering and leaving miner wallets.
The chart provided by the analyst shows that every red spike represents a moment where these ancient miners “cashed out” or moved a significant amount of Bitcoin.
The chart reveals a clear behavioral pattern: these “OG” whales tend to sell into rallies.
For instance, miners aggressively sold thousands of coins as Bitcoin broke $40,000 and raced toward $60,000 back in 2021. There was also a massive spike in late 2024, when Bitcoin hit $91,000.
Significance of whale moves
Retail investors operate on the belief that whales (especially Satoshi-era ones) know something they don’t. Moreover, whales with such substantial holdings obviously have tremendous influence on the market.
Last month, for instance, roughly $183 million worth of vintage Bitcoin was mobilized in a span of just 72 hours.