A dormant wallet address has been activated after more than 10 years of inactivity, transferring Bitcoin worth hundreds of millions of USD, intriguing the community.
Data from the blockchain analysis company Lookonchain shows that two mysterious Bitcoin (BTC) wallets containing a total of over 1,000 BTC, equivalent to 61.7 million USD as of May 14, unexpectedly became active again after more than 10 years.
Specifically, the wallet address '16vRq...qjzEa' transferred 500 BTC at block 843,131 on May 12. Two days later, another 500 BTC from address '1DUJuH...NgfC5' was further transferred out of the wallet.
The first 500 BTC were allocated to various wallets, while the second 500 BTC has seen no activity since reaching the new account. After analyzing the data, Lookonchain linked the two transactions and suggested that both wallets belong to the same person or organization.
According to CoinGecko, these two wallets received 500 BTC on September 12 and 13, 2013, when Bitcoin was priced at 134 USD. Compared to the current price, the BTC has appreciated 456 times.
The ranking from BitInfoCharts shows that before their reactivation, these two wallet addresses were the 4,353rd largest in the world. These are considered Bitcoin whales, a term used to describe individuals holding from 1,000 BTC.
The awakening of Bitcoin whales has garnered significant attention from the community. A large quantity of Bitcoin sold on the market could create supply discrepancies, leading to strong price fluctuations. However, wallets with over 10 years of activity are even more noteworthy as they may be wallets created before Satoshi Nakamoto suddenly disappeared from the internet. Many analysts speculate that these wallets may be somewhat related to the creator of Bitcoin.
Less than a week ago, a Bitcoin wallet from the 'Satoshi Nakamoto era' also unexpectedly became active again, transferring 686 BTC, worth about 43.9 million USD to two new addresses.
In the cryptocurrency field, the term 'Satoshi era' refers to Bitcoin wallets created before the creator of Bitcoin disappeared from the internet, following an email sent on April 26, 2011. Wallet addresses from the 'Satoshi era' are often speculated to be directly related to the creator of Bitcoin. It is estimated that he holds about 1.1 million BTC from mining the first blocks on the entire network.
According to analysis by Chainalysis and Fortune, there are currently 1.75 million Bitcoin wallet addresses that have been inactive for more than a decade. It is estimated that these wallets contain about 1,798,681 Bitcoin, worth approximately 120 billion USD, accounting for about 8.5% of the total Bitcoin supply on the network.
The wallet address '3Gvx...fcGq' holds 1,139 Bitcoin, equivalent to 75 million USD.
Whenever any wallet from the 'Satoshi era' awakens, the search for the identity of Bitcoin's creator reignites. Many believe that with 1.1 million BTC held, Satoshi could cause significant market fluctuations, especially as supply becomes increasingly limited. A large amount of dormant Bitcoin beginning to awaken could lead to major price changes.
According to Cointelegraph, any Bitcoin wallet from the 'Satoshi era' is like a buried treasure, captivating the imagination of explorers. The existence and dormant state of these Bitcoin wallets is a topic of extensive research within the cryptocurrency community. Analysts are always trying to trace old wallet addresses to uncover the true identity of Bitcoin's creator. However, to this day, the identity of the world's most valuable cryptocurrency's creator remains undisclosed.
Cryptocurrency security expert Sergio Demian Lerner, Chief Scientist at IOV Labs, told Cointelegraph: "Satoshi's Bitcoin wallets represent a significant portion of the market supply. Bitcoin becomes increasingly valuable as more people want to buy while supply decreases. Therefore, dormant wallet addresses always attract significant community interest."
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