An anonymous crypto wallet sold 250 Wrapped Bitcoin worth around $20.3 million in a single on-chain transaction on May 15, according to data shared by KuCoin’s flash news desk.
The identity of the seller and the original purchase price were not disclosed.
At the time of the transaction, Bitcoin was trading near $80,400, down about 2% on the day as broader market pressure increased following rising Treasury yields and fresh inflation concerns in the United States.
The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.54%, its highest level since May 2025, adding pressure across risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
The sale of Wrapped Bitcoin added more selling pressure to the market. WBTC is a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed ERC-20 token used widely across Ethereum-based decentralized finance platforms.
Unlike Bitcoin movements through centralized exchanges, large on-chain WBTC transactions can happen outside traditional exchange order books, making them harder for traders to track in advance.
The transaction also fits into a wider pattern of whale activity seen throughout 2026. Earlier reports from CryptoQuant showed analysts dismissing fears of a broader market dump after another dormant whale wallet became active in early May without sending funds to exchanges.
Before that, another long-dormant Bitcoin address sold 1,000 BTC as market selling pressure increased, bringing its total transfers since November 2024 to around 3,500 BTC.
At the same time, separate blockchain data showed that some whale groups were still accumulating Bitcoin, collectively adding more than 61,000 BTC even while prices declined.
Analysts said it remains unclear whether the latest $20.3 million WBTC sale is part of a larger coordinated distribution trend or simply isolated profit-taking by one holder.
For now, market direction continues to depend heavily on macroeconomic factors, especially expectations surrounding future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions during the second half of 2026.
