$1,006,057,985 Bitcoin (BTC) Transfer Triggers Whale Watchers, Crypto Giant Reveals Motive Behind Transaction
A huge Bitcoin (BTC) transaction is catching the eye of crypto whale watchers.
A pseudonymous crypto trader and analyst who goes by the name Krisma spotted the transfer of 146,500 Bitcoin, which is worth $1,006,057,985 at time of publishing.
As traders tried to determine the reason for the transfer, Bitfinex chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino revealed that the leading Hong Kong-based exchange is behind the transaction.
According to Ardoino, Bitfinex was shifting funds between its hot and cold wallets. The exchange transferred 15,000 BTC to its hot wallet, and the rest was routed back to the Bitfinex’s original cold wallet. The total cost of the billion-dollar transaction was just 69 cents.
Ardoino says he’s thinking of announcing all big transfers in the future to avoid causing confusion.
This isn’t the first time a crypto exchange has caused a stir due to large, unannounced movements of crypto. Last year, the Seattle-based crypto exchange Bittrex was linked to one of the biggest movements of BTC on record.The analytics company Glassnode says Bittrex moved about $9 billion in Bitcoin between its own wallets in the span of an hour, across 21 separate transactions.
