The European Central Bank has taken a practical step forward in its digital euro project. On Monday, the regional bank launched a testing platform involving around 70 companies from across Europe, including banks, startups, and payment providers.
The goal is to trial how the digital euro could work in day-to-day transactions and explore new services built around it. Participants are split into two groups called Pioneers and Visionaries.
Digital Euro Moves to Real World Simulations
The Pioneers are testing basic transaction functions, such as conditional payments that complete automatically when a set condition is met, for purposes like a package being delivered.
The ECB is providing a technical setup that mirrors what a future digital euro ecosystem might look like. This includes application programming interfaces and support materials. Companies are using these tools to simulate transactions, develop use cases, and test how well this digital currency integrates into their existing systems.
The ECB also expects each company to document its findings. This is in order that these will help the central bank evaluate both the performance and the practical use. It also gives companies a chance to offer feedback on what works and what needs improvement.
Digital Euro: Testing Larger Access
The Visionaries group is exploring how the digital euro could serve social goals. One example is giving people access to their digital wallets through post offices. This could make digital payments available to those without a bank account or smartphone.
Visionaries will present their work to the ECB in workshops running until May 2025. Both groups’ insights will be compiled into a final report later this year. The ECB says this joint effort shows strong interest from the private sector and will guide future decisions about launching a digital euro.
Meanwhile, the regulators are dealing with messier parts of the crypto world. After hackers used OKX’s Web3 platform to wash $100 million from a Bybit hack, EU officials are now checking if the exchange broke MiCA rules. This clearly shows why trust and control matter more than ever.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF is in the top 1% of performers in this category despite tariff chaos. Analysts theorize that the issuers are stabilizing Bitcoin’s volatility, and the ETF market will make BTC more secure in the future.
The issuers act as major whales, buying up any token dumps from retail investors. However, this new stability is entirely contingent on these powerful firms, which are exposed to broader macroeconomic concerns.
Are the ETFs Stabilizing Bitcoin?
The threat of Trump’s tariffs has brought chaos and uncertainty into global markets, but the price of Bitcoin has been relatively fine. Although it has fallen from its all-time high in January, its price shelf is still well above its performance before the November election.
According to one analyst, the ETFs may be providing Bitcoin with this extra stability:
“Bitcoin ETFs have eked out positive inflows past month and YTD and IBIT is +2.4 billion YTD (Top 1%). Impressivem and in my opinion, helps explain why BTC’s price has been relatively stable: its owners are more stable. ETF investors are much stronger hands than most think. This should increase stability and lower volatility and correlation long term,” claimed Eric Balchunas.
Since the Bitcoin ETFs first hit the market, they’ve totally transformed the crypto industry, but it’s been difficult to quantify that transformation.
However, this impending economic crisis has given analysts a useful chance to collect hard data from a stress test. Balchunas emphasized that ETF issuers had a powerful demand for BTC, which has powered some changes.
Weekly Bitcoin ETF Inflow in 2025. Source: SoSoValue
Bitcoin is more integrated than ever into traditional finance, and that presents a few opportunities. For any number of reasons, retailers have been compelled to dump their tokens.
Normally, these actions could spook the markets, but ETF issuers (and Michael Saylor’s Strategy) have been willing to buy as much Bitcoin as possible.
In other words, these whales have done a lot to hold up confidence in the entire market. Ideally, ETF issuers will have a mostly positive impact on the sector, potentially curing Bitcoin’s infamous chronic volatility.
The ETF issuers have a high confidence in Bitcoin, which has kept its price steady throughout the tariff chaos. If they lose that confidence for any reason, it could cause a powerful demand crisis.
This investment trend has been a tremendous benefit to the crypto industry, but it’s important to keep an eye on the potential risks involved.
Bitcoin (BTC) in 2025 is buzzing with activity as long-dormant Bitcoin wallets, often referred to as “old whales,” spring back to life after years of inactivity.
Recent large transactions from untouched wallets for over a decade and significant Bitcoin movements to exchanges are capturing the crypto community’s attention. These developments reflect changes in the behavior of major investors and may signal potential price volatility on the horizon.
Old Bitcoin Whales Suddenly Active Again
Recently, 3,422 Bitcoins, equivalent to $324 million, were transferred from a wallet that had been dormant for 12 years to a new address. These Bitcoins originated from BTC-e, one of the oldest shut-down exchanges.
Back in 2012, the initial value of these BTC was just $46,000. Today, their value has surged 7,018 times, a clear result of Bitcoin’s long-term growth potential.
Around the same time, another wallet holding 2,343 BTC, valued at over $221 million, activated again after 11.8 years of dormancy. Transactions from these “sleeping” wallets often draw significant attention within the community, as they may indicate that veteran investors are starting to liquidate assets or preparing for other strategic moves in the market.
Bitcoin Movements to Exchanges: Rising Selling Pressure?
In addition to the reactivation of long-dormant wallets, the market has also seen a series of large Bitcoin transfers to major exchanges. According to data from Whale Alert, these transactions spiked in early May 2025.
Specifically, 2,402 BTC were moved from Ceffu to Binance, 600 BTC ($56.65 million) were transferred from an unknown wallet to Bitfinex, and 1,636 BTC ($154.05 million), along with 1,385 BTC ($130.74 million), were sent from Cumberland to Coinbase Institutional. Another transaction involving 1,142 BTC ($107.68 million) was also recorded from an unknown wallet to Coinbase Institutional.
These movements suggest that Bitcoin whales actively shift their assets to exchanges, a behavior often interpreted as a sign of potential selling pressure.
Beyond individual whales, Riot Platforms, a leading Bitcoin mining company, sold 475 BTC in April 2025 to cope with industry pressures. This move comes as the Bitcoin mining sector faces rising operational costs following the 2024 halving event, forcing many companies to liquidate portions of their holdings to sustain operations. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, an institutional investor known for its Bitcoin accumulation strategy, continues to buy in despite criticism of its high-risk investment approach.
However, data from Coinglass reveals that last week, exchanges recorded a net outflow of 15,700 BTC, with total balances dropping to 2.2 million BTC. This could reflect a long-term accumulation trend among large investors, as they withdraw Bitcoin from exchanges to store in cold wallets, reducing the circulating supply in the market.
What did These Movements mean for the Bitcoin Market?
The activities of old whales and major institutions fuel speculation about the Bitcoin market’s future direction. According to a CryptoQuant report from March 2025, the Exchange Whale Ratio on Binance has recently declined, indicating a reduction in selling pressure from large investors, a positive signal for BTC’s price.
The Exchange Whale Ratio, which fell below 0.3 on April 23, indicates a major shift in participation, from institutional or big traders to more retail-dominant flows.
Bitcoin exchange whale ratio. Source: CryptoQuant
“This suggests less whale selling and, perhaps, a “cleaner” market environment in which price movements are driven by organic demand rather than large-volume sell-side pressure.” Analysis shows that
Short-term Bitcoin holders have not yet taken significant profits to form selling pressure, and upward momentum is still accumulating.
“The current NUPL is 8%, while its 30-day SMA remains negative and holds at -2%. Until NUPL exceeds 40%, selling pressure from this cohort will remain minimal, which is a bullish signal.” Analysis shows that
However, the recent transfers of Bitcoin to exchanges suggest that short-term selling pressure may increase, particularly as Bitcoin hovers around $95,000, with key support levels at $93,000 and $83,000.
The reactivation of long-dormant wallets also signals confidence from veteran investors, who are gearing up for a new bullish cycle. These developments paint a complex market picture, with both opportunities and risks on the horizon.
The resurgence of old Bitcoin whales, significant transfers to exchanges, and actions from institutions like Riot Platforms are heating the crypto market in 2025. These movements reflect shifting sentiments among major investors and could shape Bitcoin’s price trends in the coming months. While the potential for growth remains, investors must stay vigilant and prepared for unexpected market fluctuations.
