A bitcoin address was found to have amassed 6,494 BTC over about 3 weeks and then moved all of its holdings in transactions that included an address reported to be linked to Binance. As about $423 million worth of bitcoin moved along a route that could reach exchange infrastructure, market caution about the possibility of large-scale selling is growing.

On Aug. 10 (local time), blockchain outlet CryptoSlate reported the address secured a total of 6,494.34685667 BTC through 45 deposits from July 19 to Aug. 8. The address then spent all its holdings through 70 confirmed transactions. The confirmed balance at the time of compilation was 0 BTC. In particular, 23 of 25 withdrawal transactions also sent funds to the address bc1qm34lsc65zpw79lxes69zkqmk6ee3ewf0j77s3h. In the process, the bitcoin the address used in transactions totaled 6,494.33835675 BTC.

But that figure does not necessarily mean the exact amount of bitcoin actually credited to the destination address. That is because bitcoin from other addresses was combined in some transactions. The last deposit was made on Aug. 8. After receiving 1,000.00882659 BTC that day, the address used that amount again about 2 hours 30 minutes later in a follow-up transaction that led to the same destination.

Market attention is focused on whether the bitcoin moved to an exchange for an actual sale. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain disclosed the address early on Sunday, identifying the owner as an "unknown whale" and also mentioning the possibility it could be a miner. But blockchain records alone make it difficult to confirm whether the address belonged to a single individual or institution.

Even if the destination address is linked to Binance, it cannot be concluded that the transaction immediately led to sell orders. That is because on-chain records alone make it hard to distinguish whether a customer deposited bitcoin to the exchange, or whether Binance managed its own wallets or repositioned funds.

The link between the address and Binance is confirmed in previously released materials. In proof-of-reserves materials Binance disclosed in 2022, the address was presented as one of the bitcoin addresses the exchange controlled at the time. U.S. federal court records later also referred to the address as a Binance address on the bitcoin network.

But past attribution materials do not mean the same control relationship continues to the present. Therefore, rather than concluding 6,494 BTC was deposited to Binance, it is more appropriate to view it as a transaction that included an address that could be linked to Binance.

Based on the transaction pattern alone, it also resembles so-called "post-deposit aggregation," in which an exchange receives bitcoin from customer deposit addresses and gathers multiple amounts into one place. In such cases, preparations for selling by an external whale and an exchange's internal wallet reshuffle can appear similar on-chain.

As a result, some analysis says it is too early to judge that the move itself has produced real selling pressure. The fact that bitcoin moved to an exchange-related address is a signal showing potential selling, but separate confirmation is needed on whether actual sell supply reached the market.

As of the time of analysis, bitcoin was trading near $65,178. Going forward, the market is expected to watch for additional fund movements from the address along the same route, as well as changes in bitcoin holdings and spot trading volumes at major exchanges such as Binance.

If those indicators move at the same time, it is expected to be possible to judge more clearly whether the 6,494 BTC transfer was preparation for an actual sale or merely an internal exchange fund reallocation.