Private Bitcoin transactions using CoinJoin have tripled since 2022, driven by significant accumulation by Bitcoin whales linked to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and MicroStrategy, according to CryptoQuant's CEO Ki Young Ju. He noted that these whales often utilize privacy transactions to transfer bitcoins to new institutional investors. Young Ju dismissed the notion that CoinJoin transactions are predominantly used by hackers for laundering stolen funds, pointing out that the reported $2.2 billion in losses from such activities represent only 0.5% of Bitcoin's realized cap inflows of $377 billion. Despite public-listed firms being required to disclose their holdings, there remain unidentified Bitcoin whales who have accumulated as much as 420,000 BTC, valued over $40 billion. Speculation exists regarding whether these whales include nation-states discreetly building reserves. Recent legislative actions in countries like Russia also indicate a shift towards integrating Bitcoin and other cryptographic assets into mainstream frameworks.

Source 🔗