420,000 Bitcoins Still Unrecorded, Whales Accumulate Bitcoins Through Private Transactions

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420,000 BTC Still Untracked, Whales Use Privacy Transactions to Accumulate Bitcoin
420,000 BTC Still Untracked, Whales Use Privacy Transactions to Accumulate Bitcoin
December 26, 2024


Bitcoin BTC

Over the past two years, private transactions on the Bitcoin network have surged. Whales actively use methods such as CoinJoin to secretly accumulate large amounts of Bitcoin. CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju highlighted the trend on Twitter. According to the update, the average annual number of CoinJoin transactions has tripled since 2022.
A sharp rise in Bitcoin CoinJoin transactions
CoinJoin transactions are a method of enhancing anonymity by mixing multiple Bitcoin transactions. This has become the tool of choice for large-scale investors, as evidenced by the fact that as of December 2022, CoinJoin transactions under 5K are the norm. However, by December 2023, CoinJoin transactions surged to nearly 40K. This trend continues until 2024, with the average number of deals remaining at around 20K. The development shows that privacy is gaining increasing importance as institutions and individual investors move large amounts of BTC.

Bitcoin CoinJoin transaction chart
Whales are secretly accumulating BTC
The surge in privacy transactions coincides with notable whale activity in 2024. Specifically, Young Ju highlighted that 1.55 million BTC flowed into the accumulation address this year. These addresses are primarily associated with exchange-traded funds (ETFs), companies such as MicroStrategy, and custodial wallets. In fact, since January, the U.S. Bitcoin ETF has accumulated more than 1.1 million BTC, exceeding Satoshi Nakamoto’s holdings. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy’s holdings have increased significantly and now owns over 444,000 BTC.
While part of this accumulation is driven by institutional investors, a significant portion remains in the hands of unidentified whales. Specifically, Ju mentioned that the entity had transferred between 240,000 and 420,000 BTC to unknown entities. This has sparked speculation about the identities and intentions of these entities. Nonetheless, the trend confirms rising adoption of Bitcoin by institutional investors seeking to move funds without attracting attention.
However, not all privacy transactions are compliant. Some analysts believe the uptick in CoinJoin activity could be due to hackers laundering stolen funds. Meanwhile, Ju cited a Chainalysis report that projects total hacker-related losses to be $2.2 billion in 2024. This figure accounts for only 0.5% of Bitcoin’s $377 billion realized market cap inflow. Ultimately, the surge in private transactions highlights the increasing importance whales and institutions place on confidentiality, both for strategic purposes and in response to regulatory scrutiny.

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