A mysterious Bitcoin whale, known as “Mr. 100,” has captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community by accumulating over 52,996 Bitcoin, valued at more than $3.5 billion, according to on-chain data.
The identity of this Bitcoin whale remains unknown, but the wallet associated with “Mr. 100” made a significant purchase of at least 1,000 Bitcoin on March 15. This purchase accounted for 52% of the total 1,907 Bitcoin bought by ten spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as reported by HODL15Capital on X.
Since November 2022, when the FTX exchange collapsed, the wallet has been consistently receiving Bitcoin. Starting from February 14, it has been adding at least 100 Bitcoin almost every day. Furthermore, the wallet has also received substantial transfers from a secondary wallet address, which has been accumulating tranches of 100 Bitcoin since 2019. This suggests that the mysterious whale has been acquiring Bitcoin since at least 2019, according to HODL15Capital.
Based on the size of the acquisitions, there is speculation about the identity of the whale. It could be a Hong Kong financial institution preparing for ETFs, the Qatar Investment Authority, other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, a cold wallet associated with the South Korean Upbit exchange, or an unidentified address belonging to a tech billionaire.
Despite Bitcoin’s price reaching near all-time highs, “Mr. 100” continues to accumulate. On March 12, when Bitcoin traded above $72,000, the wallet added 400 Bitcoin to its holdings. As a result of this accumulation spree, the Mr. 100 wallet is now the 14th largest holder of Bitcoin, according to data from Bitinfocharts.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence has identified the Mr. 100 wallet as belonging to Upbit, a cryptocurrency exchange. Crystal Intelligence, a team behind Arkham Intelligence, analyzed blockchain data and confirmed that the wallet is linked to Upbit. The wallet has been sending Bitcoin transactions exclusively to an Upbit hot wallet, with most transactions consisting of at least 500 Bitcoin. Some of the largest transactions transferred as much as 3,000 Bitcoin.
Based on this information, it is likely that the “Mr. 100” wallet is associated with Upbit, as suggested by pseudonymous on-chain analyst Defioasis. HODL15Capital also mentioned in a post on X that a South Korean entity is accumulating significant amounts of Bitcoin.
It is important to note that this article does not provide investment advice or recommendations. Readers should conduct their own research and exercise caution when making investment decisions.