Unknown crypto whale has been scooping up WBTC amid controversy

According to Lookonchain, an unknown wallet address has accumulated more than $118 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin in the last week.

An unknown wallet address has been accumulating massive amounts of Wrapped Bitcoin amid ongoing controversy concerning the token’s ownership structure. 

In an Aug. 19 X post, blockchain analytics service Lookonchain said an unknown whale address had snapped up 347 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) — worth $16 million at current prices — just hours before. 

It adds to the wallet’s growing WBTC stash, which has now accumulated a total of 1,953 WBTC (worth roughly $118 million) at an average price of $58,853. 

The outsized WBTC purchases come amid ongoing controversy concerning the ownership structure of the Wrapped Bitcoin token. 

On Aug. 9, BitGo — the team behind Wrapped Bitcoin — announced plans to transfer control of WBTC to a joint venture consisting of itself, Hong Kong-based investment manager BiT Global and Justin Sun’s Tron.

On Aug. 10, crypto risk management firm Block Analitica (BA) published a proposal on MakerDAO’s governance forum requesting the protocol to close all new WBTC debts and prevent new borrowing against WBTC collateral.

Related: BitGo CEO argues WBTC security is unchanged amid concerns

On Aug. 16, MakerDAO approved and executed the proposal, prohibiting the borrowing of WBTC on the Sparklend platform. 

Lending giant Aave is also reportedly gearing up to propose an alternative to borrowing and lending WBTC, proposing the supply of an alternative wrapped Bitcoin token — Threshold Network’s TBTC — instead.  

Following Bitgo’s controversial move, US crypto exchange Coinbase teased the possible launch of a new product called “cbBTC,” which some crypto pundits speculated was the exchange moving to launch its own wrapped Bitcoin token.

Rena Shah, the chief operating officer of Bitcoin software firm Trust Machines, told Cointelegraph that the new token could bolster the adoption of Bitcoin-native decentralized finance. 

“The opportunity for cbBTC, based solely on current Coinbase users, is a massive onboarding opportunity for Bitcoin DeFi,” said Shah. 

Magazine: AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining