Some of the earliest Bitcoin holders transferred tens of millions of dollars’ worth of BTC to exchanges as prices declined, coinciding with a surge in energy costs following attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region. The developments intensified tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

Blockchain data from Arkham shows that an early whale identified as “bc1ql” moved 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at roughly $71 million, to Binance on Wednesday. This wallet originally accumulated 5,000 BTC around 13 years ago and still retains approximately 1,500 BTC, currently worth about $106 million, according to Onchain Lens.

On the same day, one of Bitcoin’s earliest adopters, Owen Gunden, transferred 650 BTC, valued at around $46 million, to the Kraken exchange. This marked his first major transaction in five months, following a previous sale of 11,000 BTC worth $1.12 billion, according to Lookonchain.

These movements point to renewed profit-taking activity among long-term holders, as market participants react to broader risk-off conditions triggered by geopolitical tensions and energy market disruptions.

Energy shock and geopolitical escalation impact markets

The transfers occurred amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, including reports that Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gasfield, one of the largest natural gas reserves globally, jointly operated with Qatar. The strike followed the reported killing of Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, one of several senior figures targeted in recent days.

Energy markets reacted sharply. Brent crude oil briefly rose above $119 per barrel before retreating to around $114.77, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $100 before easing to approximately $96.59, according to Trading Economics data. At the same time, wholesale gas prices in Europe and the United Kingdom increased significantly after Iran reportedly targeted Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex, according to Bloomberg.

Bitcoin declines alongside broader risk assets

Bitcoin’s latest downturn began shortly after the escalation in the region and the attack on Qatar’s energy infrastructure, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen. “BTC began to sell off yesterday around noon CET, following the escalation of the war between Iran and Israel and the attack on gas infrastructure in Qatar, ” she told Cointelegraph, adding:

“If we fail to hold the $70K–$71K level, we could return to the previous range of approximately $60K–$71K.”

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped by around 5%, trading at approximately $70,439 as of 10:15 a.m. UTC, based on CoinMarketCap data.

The decline occurred alongside a 4.2% drop in gold prices, with the metal trading near $4,686 per ounce. According to Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, the simultaneous decline in both Bitcoin and gold indicates a broader shift toward risk aversion rather than a move into traditional safe-haven assets.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-18/qatar-reports-extensive-damage-at-site-of-ras-laffan-lng-plant

https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/address/bc1qlfmc6nv27d62s6zygjnjt6wm28klfh2gltg6ym

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whales-sell-iran-war-oil-spike

https://x.com/OnchainLens/status/2034438319275430379

https://x.com/lookonchain/status/2034454558500610209

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c24d410m3g4t

https://coinmarketcap.com/

https://goldprice.org/