Whale’s Bitcoin Wallet Springs to Life After a Decade of Inactivity
By Jimmy Aki
Updated: May 6, 2024 14:23 EDT | Read Time: 2 minutes
After 10 years of dormancy, a whale’s Bitcoin wallet has become active once again. On May 6, it transferred 687.33 BTC to undisclosed wallet addresses, sparking speculation of a selloff within the cryptocurrency community.
According to Whale Alert, a blockchain tracker and analytics platform, the Bitcoin whale moved $43.893 million worth of BTC to two wallet addresses.
The Revival of Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Continues
One transaction involved the transfer of 625.42 BTC, valued at $41 million, while the other involved the transfer of 61.9 BTC, equivalent to approximately $2.89 million at the time of writing.
Bitcoin Wallet transferred 687.33 BTC to two undisclosed addresses.
The Bitcoin whale had been inactive for over 10 years since acquiring the Bitcoin on January 12, 2014, when the cryptocurrency was trading at $917 per coin. The value of the whale’s entire reserve at that time was $630,000. Currently, BTC is valued at $63.8K, representing a staggering profit of 6,875%.
The reactivated Bitcoin wallet can be traced back to the Satoshi era – the early days following the creation of Bitcoin, during which its pseudonymous founder, Nakamoto, was active in online forums. Some wallets from the Satoshi era are often speculated to be linked to Satoshi himself.
This is not the first time that Bitcoin whales have made significant transfers after years of dormancy. In November 2023, Satoshi-era Bitcoin whales reportedly transferred $230 million worth of BTC after six years of inactivity. In August 2023, a Bitcoin wallet containing 1,005 BTC mined in 2010 was reactivated and transferred the long-dormant coins to new addresses in a series of transactions. The wallet statement revealed that the 1,005 BTC was valued at just $328 when it was received in 2010.
As previously reported on Crypto News, the fifth-richest Bitcoin whale moved over $6 billion worth of BTC to three new addresses after 10 years of dormancy.
On April 15, another dormant Bitcoin wallet became active for the first time in nearly 14 years. The Bitcoin whale transferred 50 BTC to Coinbase, resulting in a profit of over $3 million on coins that were once worth less than a penny each.
Meanwhile, the sudden activation of this most recent dormant Bitcoin whale wallet has raised concerns about a potential selloff. Speculations suggest that the Bitcoin whale may have chosen to liquidate a significant portion of their BTC holdings amidst recent price fluctuations.
Some crypto traders believe that the awakening of these wallets is likely associated with early miners or buyers aiming to make a profit, while others are cautious about the impact of such large transactions on the market or wonder if more wallets will awaken.
1.75 Million Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Remain
According to Fortune, approximately 1.75 million Bitcoin wallets have been inactive for over a decade. These wallets collectively hold 1,798,681 BTC, valued at around $121 billion.
The reactivation of dormant wallets is intriguing considering Bitcoin’s price history. In its early days, the cryptocurrency had little value, only surpassing the $1 mark in 2011. As a result, many individuals who received Bitcoin may have forgotten about it or failed to secure the private keys required to access their wallets.
The lack of key security was particularly prevalent before 2012 when services like Coinbase, which now manages private keys on behalf of users, were not yet established.
However, not all dormant wallets were lost or abandoned. Survey data from Chainalysis suggests that old wallets will continue to reactivate steadily but slowly until the number of lost Bitcoins stabilizes, estimated to be around 1.5 million coins.
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