Dormant Bitcoin whale resurfaces after 10 years, moves $44 Million in BTC
On May 6, a whale, dormant for 10.3 years, moved 687.33 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $44 million.
According to data from the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, the wallet initially received the Bitcoin on January 12, 2014, when Bitcoin’s price hovered around $917.
Adding to the intrigue, the wallet in question was actually created during a time when Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was still actively involved in the crypto industry. Back then, the Bitcoin stash was worth a modest $630,000, a far cry from its current value.
Bitcoin transfers spark community speculation
The wallet divided its holdings and made two transfers following activation.
In the first transaction, 625.43 BTC was transferred to an address identified by bc1qky. Shortly after, 61.9 BTC was transferred to a wallet starting with bc1qdc.
Old wallets such as these often spark community speculation regarding their owners. While it is not possible to discover the identity of the wallet’s owner, many speculate that these wallets could be linked to Bitcoin’s creator.
In this instance, the crypto community once again made a broad array of assumptions, with some claiming the wallet belonged to government agencies; meanwhile, some think it’s just a trader who found his private keys.
Some market participants assumed that the wallet was actually lost and had just been recovered and cracked.
However, others expressed concerns that if the whale liquidates his holdings, it could lead to more volatility.
Several dormant wallets came to life in 2024
Since the start of 2024, the cryptocurrency industry has witnessed multiple instances of old Bitcoin wallets being re-activated.
On April 7, Lookonchain spotted another dormant wallet holding 4300 BTC. The BTC was purchased for less than $30 per coin. The wallet boasted an ROI of 230,000%.
The whale moved 240 BTC, marking its first transaction in over a decade.
Another old wallet was identified on March 6 by the analytics platform Spot On Chain.
The wallet was activated after 14 years, and the Bitcoin it held had been accumulated for prices less than $0.28 per coin. The whale moved 1000 BTC to coinbase, sparking a market crash.
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