Bitcoin whale wallets keep selling, mounting pressure on BTC’s price trajectory
Just as Bitcoin was trying to find its bottom after losing over 20% of its value in June, on-chain data shows further signs of selling. Wallets tied to Irish drug dealer Cliffton Collins, Riot Platforms, a major Bitcoin mining firm, and other whale wallets have all sent significant amounts to exchanges, in preparation to sell.
Bitcoin whale sell-off pattern is forming
A wallet linked to prominent Bitcoin bull and venture capitalist Tim Draper moved 150.84 BTC to Coinbase, realizing a loss of approximately $2.57 million after holding the coins for roughly a year. Tim Draper has been bullish on BTC, calling for $250,000 targets in the past, which is a clear signal of current market sentiment.
Bitcoin started July at its lowest level in 21 months, briefly touching $57,950, after investors pulled a record $4.51 billion out of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in June alone. Bitcoin’s exchange whale ratio, which measures the size of the largest inflows relative to total exchange inflows, has also reached a local high near 0.69. When this happens, it means the largest depositors are becoming more aggressive about moving coins to locations where they can be sold.
Riot has been systematically liquidating its BTC reserves to fund its pivot into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. MARA sold 15,133 BTC for roughly $1.1 billion earlier this year for similar reasons, and Core Scientific unloaded 1,900 BTC in January and said at the time it intended to sell its entire holdings by the end of Q1
Irish beekeeper’s Bitcoin keeps hitting exchanges
Clifton Collins, a former beekeeper from County Galway who ran a cannabis growing operation across rented houses, bought approximately 6,000 BTC in late 2011 and early 2012 using drug proceeds.
He split the coins across 12 wallets holding 500 BTC each, printed the private keys on paper, and hid them inside the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case. After his arrest and a five-year prison sentence in 2017, the property was cleared out, and the fishing gear was reportedly sent abroad for further investigation.
On July 2–3, Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) confirmed a third seizure, telling the public on X that another 500 BTC, worth approximately €27 million (~$30.91 million), had been identified as proceeds of crime.
Onchain further data shows a 500 BTC Coinbase Prime deposit in March, a 500 BTC move through a Wintermute address in May, and now this latest batch. All three transfers follow the same script. Before 2026, every one of these wallets had sat dormant for roughly a decade.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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