TL;DR
- A bitcoin wallet containing roughly 445 BTC, valued at over $50 million, moved funds for the first time in nearly 13 years.
- Onchain data shows 132 BTC was sent to a new address while 5 BTC were deposited into Kraken, suggesting potential selling activity.
- The wallet, last active in 2012, still retains approximately 308 BTC, now worth $35 million at current prices, highlighting the massive appreciation of early bitcoin holdings.
A dormant bitcoin wallet holding 444.81 BTC, equivalent to around $50.7 million, was reactivated Thursday morning, according to blockchain monitoring platforms. The wallet, which had not been used since November 26, 2012, sent 132 BTC to a newly created address and deposited 5 BTC into Kraken.
Whale Activity Signals Possible Market Moves
The motivations behind the transactions remain unclear, though the smaller Kraken deposit could indicate partial liquidation. When the wallet first received its 137.03 BTC in 2012, the total value was just $5,437, demonstrating an extraordinary 9,300-fold increase in USD value over the past 13 years. Today, the original address still holds about 307.79 BTC, valued at $35.1 million, according to on-chain data.
The revival of such early bitcoin holdings comes amid a broader trend of increased activity from OG wallets. Over recent months, longtime holders have been moving assets as bitcoin continues to approach new all-time highs. In July, Galaxy Digital facilitated the sale of more than 80,000 BTC, worth over $9 billion at the time, for a Satoshi-era investor, moving funds that had remained idle for 14 years. The transaction was absorbed by the market without major disruptions, illustrating how large transfers from dormant wallets are increasingly manageable in today’s liquidity conditions.
Early Bitcoin Wallets Show Renewed Activity Across The Network
Other historic wallets have also resurfaced in recent weeks. One address holding around 479 BTC, worth approximately $53 million, was moved after nearly 13 years of dormancy. Additionally, another bitcoin OG wallet has been actively converting BTC into Ethereum, transferring billions of dollars into ETH while maintaining significant BTC holdings. Analysts suggest that the pattern of these long-dormant wallets awakening could indicate evolving strategies by early investors looking to rebalance portfolios in the current bull market.
As bitcoin trades near $114,025, on-chain watchers continue to track the movement of these historic whales, whose actions can provide unique insight into market sentiment and potential liquidity flows, underscoring the ongoing relevance of early bitcoin holders in shaping the digital asset landscape.
