When a large whale moves in the sea, it creates ripples across the water. Similarly, when a large bitcoin (BTC) holder, often referred to as a crypto whale, moves its coins on-chain, that creates buzz on social media, prompting observers to wonder if it's a prelude to a sale and downside price volatility.

Early Friday, two wallets, labelled " 12tLs...xj2me " and " 1KbrS...AWJYm, " moved 20,000 BTC, worth over $2 billion, to new addresses. These flows were first noted by blockchain sleuth Whale Alert , and later by Lookonchain . The addresses received these coins on April 3, 2011, when bitcoin was priced at around 78 cents.

Today, BTC is over $109,000, implying a staggering 140,000-fold return for the two whale addresses, which means that they have a strong incentive to liquidate their holdings. Many long-term holders have been selling their coins ever since BTC crossed above $100,000 in May.

That said, the latest transfers were made to non-exchange addresses, which have gone silent since receiving these coins. So, it's too early to conclude that the transfer operation is aimed at taking profits.