Conor Grogan, Head of Product at Coinbase, has raised concerns about the recent transfer of $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) on July 4th, suggesting that there is a possibility it could be a hack. In a speculative post on X, Grogan described the transaction movements as unusual and hinted at the potential of a massive heist if his suspicions were true.
“If true (again, I’m speculating on straws here), this would be by far the largest heist in human history.”
The transfer of 80,000 BTC
On July 4th, eight dormant BTC wallets transferred a total of 80,000 BTC, valued at approximately $8.6 billion, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence. These transactions surpassed the GDP of Montenegro, a small European country, ranking 147th globally in terms of GDP.
Arkham Intelligence revealed that the BTC had been moved to the original wallets back in April or May of 2011 and emphasized that the transfers were carried out by a single entity. The transactions involved the transfer of 40,000 BTC initially, followed by four transactions of 10,000 BTC each over a span of 10 hours. As of now, the BTC remains untouched in eight new wallets.
Sani, a Bitcoin enthusiast and founder of Timechain Index, speculated that the 80,000 BTC might belong to Roger Ver, also known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus.’ Ver, an early Bitcoin investor, has faced legal issues in the past, including charges of tax fraud by the IRS.
Responding to speculation, Sani suggested that the transfers could indicate a potential settlement between Ver and the IRS.
Grogan’s theory of a hack
Grogan highlighted a test transaction involving Bitcoin Cash (BCH) that preceded the BTC transfers as a potential red flag. The entity behind the BTC transfers also moved 10,000 BCH, valued at nearly $5 million, back into one of the original wallets right before initiating the BTC transfers.
Grogan proposed that the test BCH transaction might have been an attempt to discreetly test the private key without drawing attention, as BCH transactions are less closely monitored. However, he questioned why the other BCH wallets associated with the transaction were left untouched.
Furthermore, Grogan dismissed the possibility of the transactions being carried out by an exchange due to the manual execution of the BTC transfers.
Disagreements with Grogan’s hack theory
While some users agreed with Grogan’s concerns, others dismissed the hack theory. One user, bretep, explained the improbability of hacking a specific Bitcoin private key given current technological limitations.
Another user, bizzy, pointed out a logical flaw in Grogan’s argument, suggesting that a scammer would not risk alerting the owner by transferring BCH tokens before the BTC transactions.
barthazian.eth noted that the suspicious BCH transaction highlighted by Grogan was likely a standard handshake transaction common in large over-the-counter deals. Additionally, Binji Pande highlighted the slow pace of the BTC transactions, indicating that it is unlikely to be a hack based on the execution speed.
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