Key Points
- Two dormant Bitcoin wallets holding 1,000 Bitcoin have suddenly become active after a 10-year hiatus.
- The two wallets, which were the equal 4,353rd largest Bitcoin whales, have transferred almost all their Bitcoin.
Two Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for a decade have suddenly sprung into action. These wallets held a combined total of 1,000 Bitcoin, which is valued at $61 million at current rates. Almost all of the Bitcoin has been transferred out.
Wallet Activity
The wallet address “16vRq…qjzEa” moved out its 500 Bitcoin at block 843,131 on May 12 at 7:10 pm UTC. The other 500 Bitcoin was moved by address “1DUJuH…NgfC5” two blocks later. This information is according to a Bitcoin block explorer.
In September 2013, both wallets received 500 Bitcoin when Bitcoin was priced at $134. At today’s prices, the transferred amount is now worth 456 times more than their acquisition price, totaling $61.2 million.
Transactions and Speculations
Since the transfers, one of the receiving addresses from “16vRq…qjzEa” has already moved the 500 Bitcoin to various destinations. The receiver from “1DUJuH…NgfC5” is still holding its 500 Bitcoin. The close timing of the inward and outward transfers has led blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain to link the two transactions together. Observers believe the two wallets were owned by the same person or entity.
Before the transfers, the two addresses were equal in size to the 4,353rd largest Bitcoin whales, as per BitInfoCharts.
A week ago, another Bitcoin wallet from the Satoshi Nakamoto era transferred 687 Bitcoin, worth $43.9 million, to two separate addresses.
It’s common for one of these early-day Bitcoin wallets to become active each month. Almost 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have been dormant for over a decade. These wallets, excluding Nakamoto’s wallet, hold about $121 billion worth of Bitcoin.
It’s impossible to know how much of this has been lost. The 1.8 million addresses account for 8.5% of the total 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist.
People often speculate that dormant wallets may be waking up to sell Bitcoin at an opportune time. Others suggest it could be to transfer the funds to a different address, perhaps under a more secure noncustodial wallet service provider.
Currently, Bitcoin is priced at $61,450 and has seen a 130% increase over the last 12 months.
