Bitcoin whales take billions of dollars in profits: Huge profits from HODL strategy

Bitcoin whales wake up, take billions of dollars in profits

Many large investors, known as Bitcoin whales, are starting to sell off their Bitcoin holdings from more than a decade ago. Last week, an anonymous whale sold 80,000 Bitcoins for $9.5 billion, which were purchased in 2011 for just $54,000, for a whopping 17 million percent return. The transaction was spotted by a user on the social network X and later confirmed by Tom's Hardware.

Not only that, another long-time Bitcoin holder, Roger Ver, also sold all of his Bitcoin for a huge profit. He bought 80,000 Bitcoins in 2014 for about $210,000, and last week sold them for more than $8.6 billion, making a profit of about 4 million percent.

These moves come as Bitcoin peaked at $123,000, fueled by crypto-friendly policies from the Trump administration, including the GENIUS Act on stablecoins.

HODL Strategy: The Secret to Huge Profits

These transactions demonstrate the effectiveness of the HODL (hold on for dear life) strategy. Another example is two Bitcoin wallets that have been inactive for 14 years, since 2011, moved 10,000 Bitcoin each to new addresses earlier this month. When purchased, these Bitcoins were worth only $16,000, but are now worth around $1 billion.

The HODL strategy, which involves holding Bitcoin for the long term despite market volatility, has yielded incredible returns for patient investors.

Trump's policies boost Bitcoin growth

Bitcoin's recent surge has been fueled by friendly policies from the Trump administration. On July 14, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $123,000, before falling slightly to $119,273 on July 24.

Specifically, last Friday (July 18), President Donald Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, which aims to introduce looser, more industry-friendly regulations for stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to assets like the USD).

At the bill signing ceremony, Mr. Trump was candid about his relationship with the cryptocurrency community, asserting: "I've saved you guys a lot of trouble."

Additionally, the US Department of Justice also dropped investigations into Jesse Powell, founder of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, as well as the Polymarket cryptocurrency futures betting platform, showing a more open attitude from the authorities.

In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order establishing a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve and appointed David Sacks as the White House's "AI & Crypto Czar." In addition, Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, announced on July 24 that it had purchased $2 billion in Bitcoin and related securities, contributing to the increase in Trump's net worth, of which cryptocurrencies account for the majority.

With the support of new policies and whales, the Bitcoin market is in a vibrant phase. However, the large selling volume of large investors also raises questions about the possibility of future price correction. However, support from the Trump administration and legal frameworks such as the GENIUS Act are creating momentum for the cryptocurrency to continue to thrive.