Bitcoin News Today: Institutions & Corporations Fuel $429M Bitcoin Surge Amid Whales' Complex Hedging

Institutional and whale-driven Bitcoin movements are reshaping market dynamics, with recent on-chain activity underscoring a surge in large-scale crypto adoption. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, deposited 2,854 Bitcoin ($314 million) and 29,639 Ethereum ($115 million) into Coinbase Prime within 24 hours, signaling continued institutional engagement with regulated custody solutions, according to Coinotag. The transfers, part of ongoing portfolio management, align with BlackRock's expanding cryptocurrency ETF offerings and highlight the platform's role as a trusted infrastructure for institutional-grade crypto transactions, according to CryptoBriefing.

Simultaneously, the "BTC OG" whale—known for its long-term Bitcoin holdings—has moved $593.67 million in Bitcoin across Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken over the past two weeks, with a recent 100 BTC ($11.1 million) deposit into Kraken, according to Coinotag. This activity, tracked by on-chain analytics platforms like Onchain Lens, reflects disciplined liquidity management by top-tier investors and reinforces confidence in major exchanges as secure custody channels, per Lookonchain. The whale's total position now includes a $173 million BTC long and $115 million ETH long, alongside a $1.18 billion short position in Bitcoin, creating a complex hedging strategy amid volatile market conditions, according to another Lookonchain analysis.

Corporate Bitcoin accumulation is also accelerating. Strategy, a publicly traded Bitcoin-focused company, has boosted its reserves to 640,418 BTC ($71.1 billion) through purchases averaging $112,051 per coin; Strategy’s Bitcoin reserve was reported by Coincodex. The firm's "42/42" capital-raising plan aims to secure $84 billion by 2027, financing further Bitcoin acquisitions. Strategy now controls over 3% of Bitcoin's total supply, outpacing peers like Marathon Digital (53,250 BTC) and 21 Inc. (43,514 BTC). However, Bitcoin-related stocks have lagged, with Strategy down 36% from summer highs, reflecting broader market skepticism despite aggressive accumulation.

Notably, a dormant Bitcoin wallet linked to the Satoshi era—inactive for 14.4 years—reactivated on October 24, transferring 150 BTC ($16.56 million) to a new address, according to Lookonchain. Coinotag also reported the wallet originally held 4,000 BTC ($440.4 million) and has shown a long-term selling pattern, while another connected address continues to offload Bitcoin. Analysts view such movements as liquidity signals but caution against overinterpreting isolated transactions as price predictors, per Coinotag.

Market sentiment remains mixed. Bitcoin dipped to $107,800 on Tuesday, with derivatives data showing a neutral-to-bullish outlook as funding rates turned positive and open interest in futures markets rose to $26.06 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. Meanwhile, geopolitical developments—including a Trump-Xi Jinping summit to ease U.S.-China trade tensions and Trump's pardon of Binance's Changpeng Zhao—have bolstered pro-crypto sentiment, per crypto.news. Yet, selling pressure persists, with $320 million in 24-hour liquidations reported, underscoring the sector's volatility.