Whale transfers $13.53 million worth of BTC in the early morning. Why use intermediary addresses to hide their identity?

On-chain data shows that 149.15 BTC were transferred from an anonymous address at 00:01 in the early morning, routed through an intermediary before flowing to another anonymous address. This transaction, valued at approximately $13.53 million, has once again drawn market attention to large-scale transfers.

Transaction Details Overview

According to Arkham data, the path of this transfer is relatively unusual. The 149.15 BTC first moved from an anonymous address starting with bc1q6z0es to address 1NhDvye5TNRtwJr8CEKmsxhDh5mhv3bEtQ, then the intermediary address transferred part of the BTC to another anonymous address 19LocJJ3EYJFm3qZ45VCMM7LAqDvAJqpZZ.

This “anonymous → intermediary → anonymous” transfer pattern is not uncommon on the chain, but its appearance often indicates several possible intentions.

Transaction Size and Market Context

Based on the data, the 149.15 BTC, at the current market price of approximately $90,710, is worth about $13.53 million. While this size does not qualify as an ultra-large transfer (which often involves thousands of BTC), it remains a medium-to-large transfer in daily transactions, enough to attract the attention of on-chain monitoring tools.

It is noteworthy that this transfer occurred during a period of relative stability in BTC’s price. According to the latest data, BTC is currently priced at $90,710.49, down 0.61% in 24 hours but up 3.19% over the past 7 days. The overall market volatility is modest, making such large transfers more likely to reflect genuine participant intentions rather than short-term fluctuations.

Possible Reasons for Anonymous Transfers

Privacy Protection

The most direct reason for multi-layer transfers by cryptocurrency users is privacy protection. Using intermediary addresses breaks the traceability of direct transfers, making it harder to link the source and destination of funds. This is a common practice among large holders.

Fund Management

Sometimes whales consolidate and organize funds through multiple addresses. These transfers may be part of wallet management or risk diversification.

Exchange or OTC Preparation

It’s also possible that these are preparations for subsequent large transactions, such as moving funds in or out of exchanges or conducting OTC trades. Using intermediary addresses for fund preparation before official transactions is a common practice among institutions.

Insights into Whale Movements on the Chain

From a broader perspective, such transfer data is valuable for understanding market participant behavior. When we see frequent large BTC transfers, it often indicates:

• Funds are moving, possibly suggesting holders are adjusting positions
• An increase in anonymous transfers may reflect heightened privacy concerns among market participants
• Late-night large transfers sometimes relate to international capital flows

From personal observation, while individual transfers of this size are moderate, frequent occurrences may warrant ongoing monitoring. They often serve as early signals of market sentiment shifts.

Summary

The early morning transfer of 149.15 BTC, though modest in scale, reflects on-chain participants’ emphasis on privacy and fund security through multi-layer transfer patterns. Such transfers are common on the BTC chain and may be routine fund management or indicators of larger market movements. Continued attention to similar on-chain data is necessary; especially if the frequency of such transfers increases, heightened vigilance may be required. For ordinary investors, understanding whale behavior patterns can help better grasp market dynamics.