Bitcoin whale wallets move $61M in BTC after a decade of dormancy

As an experienced financial analyst, I find the recent sudden activity of two long-dormant Bitcoin wallets holding a combined $61 million worth of BTC intriguing. The mysterious transactions, which saw each wallet transferring out all but a few satoshis after a 10-year hiatus, have left many in the crypto community speculating about the possible reasons behind this move.

Two previously dormant Bitcoin (BTC) wallets, each containing approximately 1,000 Bitcoins or around $61 million based on current values, have recently become active again after a decade-long slumber. Nearly all of their combined Bitcoin holdings, equating to the tiniest fractions known as satoshis, have been moved from these wallets.

At 7:1pm UTC on May 12, the Bitcoin kept in the wallet represented by the address “16vRq…qjzEa” was moved out, amounting to 500 coins, during block 843,131. Subsequently, two blocks later, the other 500 coins were transferred from the wallet identified by the address “1DUJuH…NgfC5”. This information is derived from Blockchain.com’s Bitcoin block explorer.

On Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, 2013, each wallet was credited with 500 Bitcoins. The value of Bitcoin at that time was approximately $134 per coin, as indicated by CoinGecko’s records.

As a crypto investor, I can tell you that my initial investment of $137,000, spent on purchasing a certain cryptocurrency at $61.2 per unit, has now grown significantly in value. To be more precise, the combined amount of all my transactions made at that price is currently worth an impressive 456 times more – equating to approximately $61.2 million in today’s market.

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed some activity with the received addresses “16vRq…qjzEa” and “1DUJuH…NgfC5.” The former has already transferred out the 500 Bitcoin it received to various other addresses. On the other hand, the latter is still holding onto its 500 Bitcoin.

As a researcher studying transaction data on the blockchain, I came across two transfers that occurred in close proximity to each other. The blockchain analytics firm, Lookonchain, has connected these transactions based on their proximity. It is widely speculated among onlookers that the wallets involved in these transfers might be owned by the same individual or entity.

Before the transactions, the two Bitcoin addresses held an amount equivalent to the 4,353rd largest Bitcoin hoard, based on BitInfoCharts’ data.

Just a few days ago, I came across an intriguing transaction in the Bitcoin blockchain. A wallet believed to be from the early days of Bitcoin, linked to Satoshi Nakamoto himself, moved 687 Bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $43.9 million at current rates, to two different addresses.

As a researcher studying the Bitcoin network, I’ve come across an intriguing finding from our latest analysis conducted by Chainalysis and Fortune. Approximately 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have been inactive for over a decade. Meanwhile, at least one early-day wallet is known to resurface every month.

Approximately $121 billion worth of Bitcoins are held in these wallets, excluding Nakamoto’s, according to Fortune’s report.

Approximately 8.5% of the total 21 million Bitcoins that are ever to be mined, which amounts to around 1.8 million addresses, have yet to be discovered or are currently unknown.

Some people believe that inactive Bitcoin wallets might become active again for selling purposes when it’s advantageous in the market. Alternatively, these wallets could be used to move the funds to another account, possibly with a more secure non-custodial wallet service provider.

As a crypto investor, I’m excited to see that Bitcoin is currently trading at an price of around sixty-one thousand four hundred and fifty dollars ($61,450) based on the latest data from CoinGecko. Over the past twelve months, its value has surged by an impressive 130%.

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