Unknown Whale Accumulates $118M in Wrapped Bitcoin Amid WBTC Ownership Controversy

An unknown wallet address has been accumulating massive amounts of Wrapped Bitcoin amid ongoing controversy concerning the token's ownership structure.

A mysterious wallet has been accumulating large amounts of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the token's ownership structure, according to a report on Aug. 19 by blockchain analytics service Lookonchain.

The wallet in question has acquired a little more than 347 WBTC in the past 12 hours, valued at $16 million at current prices, Lookonchain reported.

When added to the wallet's growing WBTC stash over the last week, it has now collected a total of 1,953 WBTC ($118 million) at an average price of $58,853.

The massive WBTC purchases come amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the ownership structure of the Wrapped Bitcoin token.

On Aug. 9, BitGo — the team behind Wrapped Bitcoin — announced plans to transfer control over WBTC to a joint venture consisting of itself, Hong Kong-based investment manager BiT Global, and Sun's Tron ecosystem.

On Aug. 10, crypto risk management firm Block Analitica (BA) published a proposal on MakerDAO's governance forum requesting the protocol to close all new WBTC debts and prevent new borrowing against WBTC collateral.

On Aug. 16, MakerDAO approved and executed the proposal, prohibiting the borrowing of WBTC on the Sparklend platform.

Lending giant Aave is also reportedly preparing to propose an alternative to borrowing and lending WBTC, suggesting the supply of an alternative wrapped Bitcoin token, Threshold Network's TBTC, instead.

Following Bitgo's controversial move, US crypto exchange Coinbase teased the possible launch of a new product called "cbBTC," which many crypto pundits speculated was the exchange moving to launch its own wrapped Bitcoin token.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Rena Shah, the chief operating officer of Bitcoin software firm Trust Machines, said that the new token could boost the adoption of bitcoin-native DeFi.

"The opportunity for cbBTC, based solely on current Coinbase users, is a massive onboarding opportunity for Bitcoin DeFi," Shah said.

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