Bitcoin Whale Owen Gunden Moves $245 Million to Kraken, Sparks Market Buzz

Onchain Lens, a blockchain tracker, revealed that early Bitcoin whale Owen Gunden transferred 2,401 BTC, approximately valued at $245 million, to the Kraken exchange. This substantial transfer occurred about 3 hours before Wu Blockchain announced it on November 13, 2025. Following the transaction, Gunden still holds 2,499 BTC, worth approximately $259 million, in his wallet. Cumulatively, his Bitcoin portfolio amounts to over 4,900 BTC, which exceeds half a billion dollars at current market rates.

Owen Gunden is regarded as an early Bitcoin adopter or a Bitcoin OG. He is believed to have started accumulating BTC as early as 2013, when Bitcoin's price was under $100. Gunden’s on-chain activity frequently gains attention due to the scale and timing of his transactions. For instance, on November 7, 2025, just a week prior, he sold 500 BTC (roughly $52 million) to Kraken. These back-to-back transactions suggest a strategy of gradual transfers, potentially to minimize market impact or to meet liquidity demands.

The 2,401 BTC deposit to Kraken was verified by Onchain Lens, a blockchain analytics tool. The sale was spotted at around 04:13 UTC, confirmed using Gunden’s wallet activity. The deposit aligns with the market price of Bitcoin at the time, pegged at approximately $102,000 per BTC. Following this transaction, Kraken saw a significant uptick in inflows, further corroborating this transfer. Gunden's remaining 2,499 BTC indicates his continued faith in Bitcoin's long-term value, even after liquidating a portion of his holdings.

The transfer came at a time when Bitcoin was navigating a volatile trading week, fluctuating between the $100,000 and $103,000 range before recovering to about $102,000-$103,000. Whale activity, like Gunden's transfer, often results in short-term sentiment shifts as traders monitor large sell orders on exchanges. However, Gunden’s slow and cautious transfer strategy suggests an effort to minimize potential price slippage, thereby limiting immediate market disruptions.

Gunden’s transaction of $245 million marks one of the largest single Bitcoin deposits in Q4 2025. His holdings, which represent 0.025% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply, underscore his significant influence in the market. To put this into perspective, his holdings exceed half a billion dollars in value. If invested at a hypothetical annual yield of 3%, it could generate nearly $7.3 million annually. However, this large deposit to Kraken suggests that liquidity or portfolio rebalancing might be his priority.

Institutional and high-net-worth investors, including Gunden, favor Kraken for its high liquidity levels and robust compliance standards. Kraken's systems can handle large inflows with minimal disruption, reducing the risk of instantaneous price declines. Although the immediate price impacts were avoided, analysts are monitoring Kraken’s order books closely for any signs of large sell orders, as these could exert short-term pressure on Bitcoin prices.