In the last 24hr period, the Litecoin network has transacted just over ~Ł29,000,000 (34% of the
total supply) which at current market value is equivalent to ~$4Bn+. What makes this significant is
that the majority of this activity appears to originate from a single entity on the network and
whoever is behind it doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
The entity in question is the 8th largest address by balance on the network, LeStybDLTWFJRXBP3WTbNWmxe7ZnuHPveN.
This Whale who holds ~Ł522,000 ($72m) appears to be sporadically making payments anywhere between
$10 to $100K+ every 5-10 minutes to new and existing addresses, a behaviour expected of a service
hot wallet. If true the fact such a large wallet is being used in this way means it is vulnerable to
potential attackers. For comparison, Coinbase have multiple cold storage wallets each holding
~Ł300,000 for security reasons to prevent a single point of failure,
These transactions have change addresses which cycle
back the remaining balance into the same wallet which is why $4Bn+ has technically moved even
though it’s just to the same person. This activity clearly stands out as most exchanges spread
hot wallet balances across numerous wallets in smaller amount allowing them to blend into the
network and not draw attention to themselves.
According to data provided by bitinfocharts Wallet 8 first appeared on the network on the 28th of
September 2017 at 12:48;23 UTC holding ~Ł64,000 before eventually moving it all elsewhere over 10
transactions prior to the market top. This behaviour is unlike what is currently occurring and more
so resembles a single private entity buying and selling Litecoin as opposed to an exchange.
While there have been a few transactions since, the wallet has respectively held mostly under
Ł1,000. That was until January 2021 when it sprung back to life stacking hard, at one point becoming
the 5th largest holder of litecoin. It’s also around this time the transactions activity in and
out of the wallet ramped to where it currently sits at 94,000+ total transactions. Looking at the
money moving into the wallet it appears these are exchange deposits from users which are being
pooled together and wallet 8 is now being used as a service if it wasn’t originally.
Going back further we can see an address making numerous Ł1000
payments into Wallet 8 in what appears to be automated behaviour along with a few other
wallets displaying a similar habit although with different values. The most noticeable transaction
saw a balance increase of ~Ł800,000 and occurred on the 22nd April 2021 but this too was eventually
moved elsewhere a few weeks later.
Whoever is behind Wallet 8, it’s clear the management of the wallet and its funds is causing
it to stand out on the network as it’s consistently
responsible for the largest transactions on the network each day.
