In recent days, the crypto community has been captivated by a Bitcoin (BTC) whale dubbed “Mr. 100.” This mysterious figure has accumulated an impressive 52,996 Bitcoin, valued at over $3.5 billion, ranking them as the 14th-largest holder of the cryptocurrency.
On March 15, Mr. 100 made a significant move by acquiring at least 1,000 Bitcoin. This purchase represented 52% of the total 1,907 BTC bought by the top 10 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This action has triggered speculation regarding the true identity of Mr. 100.
Bitcoin flows regularly into the possession of Mr. 100.
Fascinatingly, Bitcoin has been steadily flowing into the wallet linked to Mr. 100 since November 2022, coinciding with the collapse of the FTX exchange.
Moreover, starting from February 14, the wallet has been consistently receiving around 100 BTC daily.
Furthermore, larger transfers of Bitcoin from a secondary wallet address have been detected, with this secondary address accumulating increments of 100 BTC since 2019.
This indicates that Mr. 100 has been steadily amassing Bitcoin over an extended period.
Although the true identity of Mr. 100 remains a mystery, various conjectures have surfaced.
Some suggest that this whale could represent a Hong Kong financial institution preparing for ETFs, the Qatar Investment Authority, other sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East, a cold wallet linked to the South Korean Upbit exchange, or even an undisclosed address belonging to a tech magnate.
What distinguishes Mr. 100 is their persistent accumulation of Bitcoin, irrespective of its price volatility.
Remarkably, on March 12, when Bitcoin was valued above the $72,000 threshold, Mr. 100 augmented their holdings by an impressive 400 BTC.
This steadfast accumulation pattern has propelled them to the position of the 14th-largest BTC holder, as per data from Bitinfocharts.
Is the Mr. 100 Wallet Associated with Upbit Exchange?
The Mr. 100 wallet, intriguingly, has been identified by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence as a cold wallet associated with the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange. Through their analysis, the firm has inferred that this wallet is linked to a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) type service, with incoming transactions being traced back to Upbit. Further corroborating this finding, Crystal Intelligence, another analytics team, has confirmed that the outflows from the wallet are directed towards an Upbit hot wallet. Notably, many of these transactions involve substantial amounts, with some transfers even reaching as high as 3,000 BTC.
Such compelling evidence has led to the hypothesis that Mr. 100 could indeed be connected to Upbit. The consistent movement of 100 BTC at regular intervals raises the possibility that this could be a unique method employed by Upbit to manage their cold and hot wallet assets, as proposed by the pseudonymous on-chain analyst, Defioasis.
Moreover, observations indicate that a South Korean entity has been accumulating substantial amounts of Bitcoin, lending further credence to the theory that Mr. 100’s activities are intertwined with those of Upbit.
It is worth noting a tangential point that the US government is currently the largest holder of Bitcoin (BTC), having acquired approximately 200,000 coins valued at around $5 billion through seizures related to criminal activities. These digital assets, seized from cybercriminals and darknet markets, are securely stored offline in encrypted hardware wallets controlled by various federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
