An anonymous Bitcoin investor bought more than $400 million worth of the cryptocurrency in early February 2018 — just as investors pushed the once high-flying coin toward its recent low price of under $6,000.
Bitcoin now trades above $10,000, a 67% change in investment value.
The anonymous investor bought more than 96,000 Bitcoins between Feb. 9 and Feb. 12. Bitcoin’s valuation briefly fell to under $6,000 during this time period.
The mysterious Bitcoin investment buy was conducted via the Bitcoin address “3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64.”
An initial buy of 55,000 Bitcoins increased to more than 96,000 as the price fell, an aggressive form of trading that seeks to maximize gains by purchasing a rapidly falling asset.
The strategically timed buys likely buoyed Bitcoin in its worst moments. At the beginning of 2018, Bitcoin and many analogous cryptocurrencies lost more than half of their value.
Increased talk of international financial regulatory crackdowns, negative critiques by financial authorities and wild volatility precipitated a price freefall.
Bitcoin hit $20,00 in December 2017 and fell to just under $6,000 by early February, barely a month later.
Crypto experts theorize that news of the massive transaction via social media prompted coin bulls to accept $6,000 as the cryptocurrency’s price bottom.
Smelling blood
The $400 million purchase thus provided other speculators with a reason to buy, rallying Bitcoin as it fell.
“Not sure who that big buyer was but many have bought this dip and have added since the rebound,” said Alex Sunnarborg, founding partner of Tetras Capital.
Jeff Koyen, president of 360 Blockchain USA, believes that the mystery investor added a mystique to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at a crucial moment, a point at which other investors and speculators were losing faith.
“The $400 million whale is fuel for the Telegram channels where traders lay out their conspiracy theories,” Koyen said
“However, I am willing to believe that, seeing Bitcoin bottom around $6,000, Wall Street smelled blood and jumped back in.”
The identity of the unknown investor has yet to be revealed and may remain a secret forever.
