A Bitcoin whale has moved a colossal 44,000 ($310,280,282) BTC from one untracked wallet to another for a fee that is considered pocket change to the developed world, according to TheNextWeb, November 24, 2019. If the transacting entity used their friendly neighborhood bank instead, it would have cost them $40-$100 depending on the distance the money was sent across.
The Beauty of Bear Markets
Every so often, the Bitcoin market drops by 15-20 percent and all hell breaks loose. Twitter influencers tuck their tails and run away while their followers wonder if they should liquidate their holdings and write off the ‘crypto’ chapter of their lives or tough out the bear market in the hopes of a new moon-like horizon.
During times like this, we often see whales moving large sums of money from one place to another for a few cents. Most times, they are moving their capital and profits from one place to another, but other times they’re probably just flexing on the rest of us.
Either way, the core takeaway from this is that Bitcoin fees, like its price, will go through cycles of highs and lows. This is an important part of keeping the user base intact whilst creating a strong incentive for miners. The very fact that this entity was able to move $310 million without permission or revealing their identity is a testament to Bitcoin’s resounding success thus far.
Moving Funds With Ease
This particular transaction also shows institutions how easy it is to move Bitcoin. Though they probably aren’t convinced on the security of their funds, moving sizeable chunks of money for a $0.32 fee would go a long way in reducing banking expenses for those conducting many transactions in a day.
To be fair, sometimes fees would shoot up to $5, $50, or even higher, but this is all part of the fee cycle that Bitcoin has nurtured. This uncertainty undoubtedly plays a part in the dearth of institutional adoption.
Blockchains inherently promote transparency and reduce the need to trust. In return for this openness, blockchains trade away the high throughput and efficiency of centralized systems. The crux of the crypto issue for the last half-decade has revolved around scalability and will probably continue to for the next few years.
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