Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Wake-Up, Move $61 Million After a Decade of Inactivity
Summary:
Two dormant Bitcoin wallets containing a total of 1,000 bitcoins ($61 million) have suddenly become active after ten years of inactivity. The wallets initially received the bitcoins on Sept. 12 and 13, 2013 when one bitcoin was valued at $134. They have now moved most of their satoshi, making the amount transferred worth 456 times the original acquisition price. One of the wallets has further transferred its bitcoins while the other still holds its bitcoins. These developments have led to speculation as to whether both wallets are owned by a single person or organization.
Two dormant Bitcoin (BTC) wallets, together containing 1,000 Bitcoin - equivalent to $61 million at present values - have suddenly been activated, moving nearly all of their accumulated satoshi after 10 years of inactivity. The wallet with address "16vRq…qjzEa," moved its 500 Bitcoin stash at block 843,131 on May 12 at 7:10 pm UTC, while the other wallet with address "1DUJuH…NgfC5," relocated its 500 Bitcoin, two blocks later, according to Blockchain.com’s Bitcoin block explorer. Both of these wallets initially acquired 500 Bitcoin each on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, 2013, at a time when the price of Bitcoin was just $134, as per CoinGecko. Consequently, the total amount moved is valued 456 times higher than when it was first acquired, approximating $61.2 million. Subsequent to these transfers, one of the recipient addresses from "16vRq…qjzEa" has already proceeded with distributing its 500 Bitcoin to numerous other addresses, whereas the recipient of "1DUJuH…NgfC5" has maintained its 500 Bitcoin. The close timing of these inward and outward transfers suggested a connection, leading Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics firm, to link the two transactions together, causing observers to speculate whether both wallets are owned by a single individual or organization. The two addresses were previously jointly ranked as the 4,353rd biggest Bitcoin whales, according to BitInfoCharts. Not too long ago, a Bitcoin wallet originating from the Satoshi Nakamoto era moved 687 Bitcoin, worth roughly $43.9 million, to two different addresses. Although at least one of these old Bitcoin wallets tends to show activity each month, almost 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have stayed inactive for over ten years, as suggested by recent examination by Chainalysis and Fortune. The dormant wallets, excluding Nakamoto’s, hold around $121 billion worth of Bitcoin. Even though it is impossible to estimate the amount that has been lost, these 1.8 million addresses equal about 8.5% of the total 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist. Some hypothesize that these dormant wallets are reasserting their activity to sell Bitcoin when the time is right, while others propose that the Bitcoin may be moving to a different, potentially more secure noncustodial wallet service provider. Currently, the value of Bitcoin is at $61,450, witnessing a 130% surge over the previous 12 months, according to CoinGecko.
Published At
5/13/2024 4:15:28 AM
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