195K Bitcoin Transaction
First time accepted submitter saidi writes "The Washington Post reports that yesterday a truly massive Bitcoin transaction occurred, from the article: 'In this particular transaction, bitcoins from 15 different Bitcoin addresses were consolidated and sent to address 12sENwECeRSmTeDwyLNqwh47JistZqFmW8. The size of the transaction? 194,993 bitcoins. Given that one bitcoin is worth around $800 right now, the transaction is valued at more than $150 million.'"
A researcher did a bit of digging, and it appears that this was the Bitstamp exchange moving their balance around (business appears brisk).
I know what would happen to my bank account, but would that have thrown the entire system into chaos if I cashed in that many at once?
There is a liquidity problem with BTC. You probably would have great trouble trying to cash in that many, AND get actual US dollars for them.
Sure... you could switch from a BTC balance to a USD balance at Mtgox... do you think they will be sending you your check anytime soon?