"Galaxy Digital acted as an agent, not a direct seller, of 80,000 Bitcoin… Connected to MyBitcoin wallet"

Recently, it was reported that Galaxy Digital sold 80,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in a single transaction. Galaxy Digital clarified that the sale was made at the request of a client who had held the Bitcoin for over 10 years.

On the 26th, crypto media BeInCrypto reported, “This sale by Galaxy Digital represents one of the largest single Bitcoin liquidations in history. On-chain analysis shows that the assets moved from addresses linked to the now-defunct wallet service ‘MyBitcoin’.” The previous day, Galaxy Digital had repeatedly transferred large amounts of Bitcoin to exchanges.

Galaxy Digital stated through the Bitcoin blockchain’s metadata (op_return field), “Galaxy Digital disposed of 80,000 BTC on behalf of early Satoshi-era holders,” adding, “This will likely be one of the largest exit events ever.” They further commented, “The transaction is part of the investor’s asset management strategy.”

On-chain analysts believe most of the Bitcoin came from addresses related to the MyBitcoin wallet service, which was shut down after a 2011 hack. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggested, “The wallet had been inactive since April 2011, and the seller may be either the hacker or, as known, the founder Tom Williams.”

Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, remarked, “Handling such a large sale as a single transaction is unusual and raises concerns about slippage,” also noting, “The unclear motivations behind the urgent cash-out are a point of question.”

Eliezer Ndinga, Vice President of Digital Asset Strategy at 21Shares, commented, “If Galaxy Digital acted as an intermediary, they would have conducted thorough KYC procedures,” assessing that suspicions about the source of funds are likely overstated.