A longtime Bitcoin holder is being blamed for the cryptocurrency’s sudden price drop on Sunday, which erased $45 billion from Bitcoin’s market capitalization in under 10 minutes.
Bitcoin fell from $114,666 to $112,546 in nine minutes, briefly hitting a low of $112,174, according to CoinGecko. Ether also dropped 4% during the same period before both assets recovered about half their losses. Analysts say the fall was triggered by a so-called “OG whale” — an early Bitcoin investor who began offloading holdings last week.
Blockchain data shows the whale transferred 24,000 BTC worth $2.7 billion to decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, with 18,142 BTC already sold. Much of the proceeds were rotated into Ether, totaling more than 416,000 ETH, with around $1.3 billion staked.
Crypto analyst Willy Woo said these early whales, who accumulated Bitcoin at prices under $10 in 2011, now control supply in ways that slow price growth. “This differential in cost basis, the supply they hold and their rate of selling has profound impacts on how much new capital needs to come in to lift price,” Woo wrote on X.
The whale also reportedly opened large leveraged ETH positions, making an estimated $185 million profit by frontrunning other traders. Analysts warn more Bitcoin could still be sold, with the whale said to control over 152,000 BTC across various wallets.
Meanwhile, another whale sold 670 BTC last week to fund a long Ether position, highlighting a trend of large investors shifting from Bitcoin into Ether.
