Is Mr. 100 a Sign of Coming Crypto Boom? 

• An enigmatic Bitcoin whale named "Mr. 100" has amassed over 52,996 Bitcoin, valued at over $3.5 billion, according to on-chain data, with significant purchases made since 2019 and continuous acquisitions even after Bitcoin's recent all-time highs.
• The identity of Mr. 100 remains unknown, with speculation suggesting possibilities ranging from financial institutions pre-seeding ETFs to tech billionaires. Despite Bitcoin's price surge, Mr. 100 continues to add to his holdings, even purchasing 400 BTC when Bitcoin crossed the $72,000 threshold on March 12.
• Blockchain analysis by Arkham Intelligence and Crystal Intelligence links the Mr. 100 wallet to the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange, with significant transactions and secondary wallets associated with Upbit, suggesting the wallet likely belongs to the exchange. Reports indicate a South Korean organization may be hoarding Bitcoin, with all secondary wallet addresses linked to Mr. 100's wallet verified on Upbit.

An enigmatic Bitcoin whale known as "Mr. 100," has garnered attention in the cryptocurrency world after accumulating more than 52,996 Bitcoin, valued at more over $3.5 billion, according to on-chain data.

At least 1,000 Bitcoin were purchased with the Mr. 100 Whale wallet. According to an X post by HODL15Capital, on March 15, BTC on March 15 represents 52% of the total 1,907 BTC purchased by the 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Bitcoin has been continuously sent to this address since the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange in November 2022. Since February 14, the wallet has received at least 100 BTC almost every day.

Some bigger Bitcoin transfers were received by the wallet via a secondary wallet address. Since 2019, this wallet address has also started contributing 100 BTC tranches. HODL15Capital claims that this indicates the enigmatic whale has been accumulating sats since at least 2019.

Who is the Whale?

The whale may be a financial institution in Hong Kong pre-seeding ETFs, the Qatar Investment Authority, other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, a cold wallet connected to the South Korean Upbit exchange, or an unidentified address of a tech billionaire, according to conjecture based on the size of the acquisitions.

Despite Bitcoin's recent all-time highs, Mr. 100 is still adding to his holdings. On March 12, when the price of Bitcoin crossed the $72,000 threshold, he added 400 BTC.

According to Bitinfocharts statistics, the Mr. 100 wallet is presently the 14th-largest Bitcoin holder after going on an accumulating binge.

Identification of Mr. 100 Wallet Linked to Upbit Exchange

Blockchain intelligence company Arkham Intelligence has identified the Mr. 100 wallet as a cold wallet associated with the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange.

Crystal Intelligence's analysis of blockchain data indicates that Upbit is the owner of the enigmatic wallet. Mr. 100 has only been transferring Bitcoin to a wallet that Arkahm's platform has identified as an Upbit hot wallet. With two of the largest transactions moving up to 3,000 BTC, the majority of the transactions were done in tranches of at least 500 BTC.

Upbit also owns the secondary wallets, according to the analytics team at Crystal Intelligence. Consequently, the "Mr. Pseudonymous on-chain expert Defioasis asserted that the "100" wallet most likely belonged to Upbit.

A South Korean organization is reportedly hoarding a significant quantity of Bitcoin, according to HODL15Capital. According to pseudonymous on-chain investigator Mai, all 14 of the secondary wallet addresses linked to Mr. 100's primary wallet have successfully completed the Know Your Customer verification process on Upbit exchange.