Bitcoin mining difficulty dips in first 2026 adjustment

A Bitcoin miner moved 2,000 BTC (worth almost $200 million) that they had held since 2010 to Coinbase, becoming the latest installment in the new cryptocurrency industry trend where early BTC holders are selling off or moving their funds after being inactive for years.

On-chain analysts have noticed more whales selling off their holdings in waves since late 2024. In 2025, whale holdings dropped to 3 million BTC raising concerns about the sales destabilizing the market.

Why are Bitcoin holders selling now?

A Bitcoin miner who earned rewards back in 2010 has moved 2,000 BTC to Coinbase Exchange after keeping the coins untouched for 15 years. At current prices near $100,000 per Bitcoin, this transfer is worth close to $200 million.

The miner stored these coins in 40 separate Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses, the original way Bitcoin addresses worked in 2010 before newer and better formats were introduced.

CryptoQuant reported that after BTC crossed $100,000 for the first time in December 2024, there were three major periods of selling in late 2024, July 2025, and November 2025.

In July of 2025 a whale moved 80,000 BTC that sat dormant for 14 years. Galaxy Digital helped with the transaction, which was worth about $9 billion at the time Bitcoin traded near $108,000. The company’s CEO Mike Novogratz confirmed that companies like Strategy and other corporate Bitcoin buyers quickly purchased the coins without crashing the market. Strategy already acquired 673,783 BTC as of early 2025.

Will BTC’s price drop due to whale sales?

Bitcoin was valued above $126,000 in early October 2025 before falling 30% to around $86,000 by mid-December. During the first two waves of whales selling their holdings, Bitcoin ETF demand was strong enough to outpace the supply from sellers. ETF inflows kept prices rising even as old holders cashed out.

When ETF buying cooled down and another wave of whale activity arrived in November, prices finally started dropping.

After the BTC halving event cut mining rewards in half, mining companies needed to sell more of their Bitcoin to cover electricity and operating costs.

Riot Platforms, a major Bitcoin mining company reported selling 1,818 BTC during December, generating net proceeds of $161.6 million at an average price of $88,870 per coin. The sales reported in filings was a serious escalation from November when the company sold just 38 BTC.

Back in January 2025, another dormant whale caused a stir when they sent 500 BTC worth $47 million to Coinbase Prime after six years of inactivity. That wallet originally received those coins when Bitcoin was trading around $7,000, meaning the holder gained 13x on their investment.

Market observers have been debating whether or not Bitcoin will follow its traditional four-year cycle that usually includes a bear market after price peaks. CryptoQuant’s CEO Ki Young Ju believes that the market has changed because ETFs and corporate treasuries create new demand that didn’t exist in previous cycles. He believes further gains could come in 2026 if institutional buying continues.

According to Cryptopolitan reports, investment firms such as Berstein, Bitwise, Standard Chartered and Grayscale agree with the CryptoQuant executive in dismissing the importance of the four-year cycle as more relevant macro factors have come into the picture with the crypto market’s maturity and regulatory status.

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