Bitcoin (BTC) whales have been showing different activity in the last couple of days. As spotted by CryptoQuant, these large holders have moved 31,968 BTC that have been dormant for a period of between three and five years. The value of these transactions that hit the chain is approximately $3.78 billion.
Dormant Bitcoin movements and price turning points
A notable development with these transactions is that they have not been dormant for too long. This makes it significant, considering that most whales are usually long-term investors.
A Large Transfer of Dormant Bitcoin (3–5 years old) Hit the Chain
“31,968 BTC (≈$3.78B) moved from the age group of 3 to 5 years old… These spikes have often lined up with key turning points in Bitcoin’s price.” – By @JA_Maartun pic.twitter.com/AzxOozMrTA
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) August 18, 2025
Hence, moving such a large volume of Bitcoin suggests that holders are possibly looking to sell or redistribute their assets to safer custody.
Interestingly, according to historical patterns identified by CryptoQuant, dormant Bitcoin movements often align with turning points in price action. It noted that when 33,803 BTC were moved in January 2024, it marked a period of price bottoming for the flagship crypto asset.
There were other movements in March, June, July and December of 2024. Notably, the movement in June 2024 added selling pressure in a market downturn.
This has sparked debate on the possible implications of the current transactions. It is possible that the transfer that occurred recently could signal a major move for Bitcoin’s price. Whether in an upward direction or downward, it remains a development that market participants have to watch out for.
Bitcoin price faces resistance at $121,500
As of press time, the Bitcoin price was changing hands at $115,298.11, down 2.52% in the last 24 hours. The asset crashed from an intraday high of $118,595.78 to its current level after it faced resistance at $121,500.
The rejection triggered stop-loss orders, which accelerated the drop in the Bitcoin ecosystem. However, trading volume remains in the green zone and is up by 40.76% at $64.04 billion.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s correlation with risk assets has resurfaced as the market looks forward to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech. These developments will significantly determine which way the price swings.