Three Satoshi Era Bitcoin (BTC) whale addresses that have been dormant since November 2017 transferred 6,500 BTC, estimated to be worth $230 million, on Nov. 2. Satoshi Era BTC refers to the very early stage of Bitcoin network when it was still relatively unknown.
According to data from Bitinfocharts, the first wallet moved 2,550 BTC, estimated to be worth $90 million. A second address moved around 2,000 BTC worth $71 million, and the third address transferred around 1,950 BTC worth $69 million.
All three wallets had another thing in common, i.e., the last transaction from all three wallets came on Nov. 5, 2017, nearly six years ago. Thus, these wallets slept through the Bitcoin bull run and the all-time high of over $69,000. Most of the Bitcoin in the three whale wallets dates back to July 2011 and is linked to F2Pool, a Bitcoin mining pool, suggesting it may have been accumulated via the mining process during the very early phase of the Bitcoin. This means the three wallets would have been holding BTC when it was trading under $15.
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It’s not confirmed whether all three wallets belong to the same individual or entity, though the wallet history, along with its transaction patterns, suggests that could be the potential case. The recent movement of Bitcoin whale addresses containing BTC from the 2011 era comes just days after BTC price touched a new yearly high above $35,000.
2023 has seen a number of Bitcoin whales and addresses more than ten years old, rising from dormancy, transferring BTC from 2010s to new addresses. Earlier in July, a wallet dormant for 11 years transferred $30M in BTC; a month later, in August, a Saotshi-era wallet transferred 1005 BTC to a new address.
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