The crypto-whale purchased US$85 million in Bitcoin through THORChain...

Who is buying more than 1,000 bitcoins?

An unidentified encrypted "giant whale" spent approximately US$85.42 million in USDC in the past four days, purchasing a total of 1,075.6 bitcoins. The buyer used THORChain to execute the transaction while the Bitcoin price was still below the $80,000 level. On-chain trackers Lookonchain and Ember point out that the average cost of holding a position for a buyer is approximately US$79,412 per Bitcoin. This calculation includes a THORChain conversion fee of approximately $170,000, which is equivalent to approximately 0.2% of the capital deployed.

These purchases are distributed to two Bitcoin addresses and completed gradually through multiple transactions rather than one-time block transactions. Ember initially tracked that approximately $14.2 million of USDC was converted to 179.8 BTC units, with an average price of nearly $78,955. Subsequently, the position was expanded to 767.8 bitcoins, eventually reaching 1,075.6 bitcoins. At present, the true owner identity of the wallet is still unknown.

On-chain analysts linked the activity to an entity that sold approximately 50,600 Ethereum units at the end of 2025 at an average price of US$2,921 each, and the position worth approximately US$147 million was reported to have generated approximately US$19 million in realized profits. Since then, the wallet has been dormant for about eight months before being reactivated and making Bitcoin purchases until recently. This association is based on blockchain attribution analysis and does not confirm the true identity of the buyer.

Why is it worth paying attention to using the THORChain channel?

The scale of the deal is remarkable because the giant whale uses decentralized cross-chain infrastructure rather than centralized exchanges or institutional over-the-counter (OTC) counters. THORChain allows users to exchange native assets between different blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins, without packaging assets or depositing funds in a centralized intermediary. This allows large traders to switch between stablecoin liquidity and native cryptocurrency assets while remaining self-custodial.

Compared with THORChain's recent activities, this exchange amount of US$85.42 million is quite substantial. Agreement data showed that its total exchange rate in August was approximately US$613 million, down 23% from approximately US$797 million in July. So, although these transactions occurred in September, giant whale purchases were equivalent to nearly 14% of THORChain's total transaction volume throughout August. In addition, THORChain reported 23,500 active wallets in August, a month-on-month increase of 57%, and another 21,800 new wallets added to the network.

Investor revelation

The significance of this deal is more than just its bullish appearance. The US$85 million native Bitcoin purchases executed through decentralized infrastructure demonstrate that cross-chain liquidity is increasingly capable of handling transactions that were previously mainly related to centralized exchanges and OTC counters.

Has the giant whale lost money?

The current timing is not good for buyers. On September 12, Bitcoin was trading at close to $77,300, about $2,100 lower than the average reported by Giant Whale. At this price level, the position of these 1,075.6 bitcoins will result in an unrealized loss of approximately US$2.3 million before deducting additional transaction costs. This makes this accumulation more observable than the momentum trading after the breakthrough.

Buyers continue to invest capital as Bitcoin continues to be under pressure and the macro environment deteriorates. Against the backdrop of stronger U.S. economic data raising expectations for tighter monetary policy, Bitcoin has repeatedly failed to recover the $80,000 mark. U.S. headline inflation rose 3.4% year-on-year in August, and core prices rose 0.3% month-on-month, exacerbating market expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at its September 15-16 meeting. Higher interest rates increase yields on cash and government securities, potentially reducing demand for speculative assets. In addition, capital inflows from Bitcoin ETFs have sometimes failed to generate sustained breakthroughs, indicating that institutional demand is still competing with tighter liquidity conditions.

What signals does this giant whale deal reflect of demand for Bitcoin?

A single large buyer cannot establish a market bottom, and the US$85 million position is still small relative to Bitcoin's overall market value and average daily trading volume. However, the transaction provides two useful signals: first, buyers seem willing to accumulate positions in weakness rather than wait for Bitcoin to regain momentum; and second, using THORChain shows that decentralized liquidity infrastructure has become practical enough to handle tens of millions of dollars in transactions.

If the blockchain is correctly attributed, the transaction may also represent a conscious rotation strategy. The entities involved had previously withdrawn a large number of Ethereum positions profitably and held mainly stablecoin liquidity for several months before switching significantly to Bitcoin. The key test now is whether Bitcoin can recover back into the cost range of the giant whale, which is around $79,000 to $80,000. A rebound will quickly reduce current book losses; a further decline after the Fed meeting may lead to a significant increase in losses.

Regardless of the short-term outcome, execution method may be more important than entry price. Stablecoins are increasingly becoming the "cash layer" of cryptocurrencies, while protocols like THORChain are becoming the "routing layer" connecting that liquidity with native assets. The deal shows that some large holders are now willing to use this infrastructure for transactions that were previously thought to be retained only within centralized platforms.