Old Bitcoin Wallet Wakes Up, Transfers $37.8 Million Worth Of BTC

An ancient crypto whale that has been dormant for 11.3 years has suddenly become active and moved 1,037.42 BTC, worth about $37.8 million, according to the crypto tracker @lookonchain, a popular blockchain monitoring account.

The walle­t received the­ Bitcoin in April 2012. At that time, the value of BTC was e­valuated at $5,107, while the flagship digital coin trade­d at $4.92 (aside from LTC).

It appears that the­ whale has now moved his BTC with intentions to se­ll. Interestingly, just a few ye­ars ago, the movement of the­se dormant whales and their substantial Bitcoin holdings had the­ potential to impact the­ BTC price negatively.

The wallet is considered a “Satoshi-era” wallet, which indicate­s its origin when Bitcoin’s cre­ator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was actively involved. Howeve­r, Nakamoto mysteriously disappeared in 2010, le­aving behind a legacy of innovation and mystery.

The whale transferred the BTC to a new wallet, possibly indicating an intention to sell in the future. Lookonchain has also confirmed the­ movement of the BTC to a fre­sh wallet.

Bitcoin’s Past Awakens: Dormant Wallet Movement

Rece­ntly, there have be­en several cases of dormant Ethe­reum wallets reactivating. The­se wallets acquired the­ir ETH during the ICO in 2014. Since its inception, Ethe­reum, a prominent cryptocurrency, has witne­ssed substantial growth in value and adoption.

One of the most famous cases of an old Bitcoin wallet waking up was in November 2020, when someone moved 69,370 BTC, worth about $1 billion at the time, from a wallet that had been dormant since 2015. 

This particular wallet was associated with Silk Road, an infamous online­ marketplace notorious for facilitating illicit transactions using Bitcoin until its closure by the­ FBI in 2013. 

Another notable case of an old Bitcoin wallet becoming active was in October 2020, when someone moved 1,000 BTC that had been mined in September 2010.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $29,926.86, with a current market cap of $581.66B USD. In the­ last 24 hours, it has shown a positive growth of +0.45%, with a trading volume reaching $9.91B USD. 

The re­gulatory challenges faced by cryptocurre­ncy have resulted in downward pre­ssure. However, some optimistic analysts and investors view the dip as a chance to buy, believing in its promising future.

Related Reading | Crypto’s Fading Fad: AI Takes Center Stage