Satoshi-Era Whale Emerges with Millions in Bitcoin After 14 Years of Dormancy
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are buzzing with the news of another dormant whale wallet awakening, believed to date back to the time of Satoshi Nakamoto. The wallet, which remained inactive for an astonishing 14 years, reactivated after Bitcoin’s recent significant drop and subsequent recovery.
According to Whale Alert, a well-known cryptocurrency tracker, this revived blockchain address contains 50 BTC, valued at $3,314,211 at the time of the announcement. The wallet had last seen any activity in 2010, the same year when the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto walked away from Bitcoin, leaving the project in the hands of a select group of developers.
This awakening of long-forgotten wallets has become somewhat of a trend in recent months, with numerous dormant addresses being reactivated after a decade or more of inactivity. Some of these wallets hold early-mined or purchased Bitcoin, while others contain Ethereum acquired during the initial coin offering (ICO) craze of 2014.
In many cases, these holders decide to sell their long-held assets, hoping to capitalize on the surging prices of Bitcoin or Ethereum. However, it is worth noting that some users simply manage to recover their lost private keys after many years.
Bitcoin faced a significant market downturn over the weekend, experiencing a sudden drop of more than 12%. The price tumbled from its recently regained position of $70,900 to $61,970, with speculation attributing the correction to developments in the Middle East. Since then, Bitcoin has recovered by over 7%, currently trading at $66,342.
Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, a prominent Bitcoin-focused company, recently shared a graph demonstrating his firm’s outperformance compared to the pioneer cryptocurrency. The chart reveals that since August 2020, when MicroStrategy began purchasing Bitcoin to bolster its balance sheet, the company’s stock price has skyrocketed by an impressive 1,097%. In comparison, Bitcoin has appreciated by 463%, while gold has seen a mere 16% increase and silver has dropped by 1%.
Saylor’s tweet accompanying the graph encourages others to “capitalize on Bitcoin.” MicroStrategy has been acquiring Bitcoin in recent years through the issuance of Convertible Senior Notes and similar securities, raising funds from investors to expand its Bitcoin holdings.