As a seasoned researcher with over two decades of experience in the financial industry, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of numerous market trends, but none quite like the wild ride that is Bitcoin. The recent stir caused by the sudden movement of a dormant Bitcoin wallet from 2014, containing a staggering $102 million, is a testament to the enduring allure and unpredictability of this digital gold rush.
Back in 2014, a Bitcoin wallet had fallen silent – but recently, it sprung back to life and transferred approximately 174 Bitcoins, currently valued at over $102 million.
On January 8, 2014, a Bitcoin (BTC) wallet which had initially remained inactive received 174.88 BTC. This wallet became active and transferred funds for the first time on August 16, 2024.
The move occurs following a ten-year span where Bitcoin’s value reached peaks of $73,000 but has since dropped back down to its present level.
Transaction cost
Back in 2014, a single Bitcoin (BTC) was valued at approximately $142,000. The remarkable increase in value since then means that the current worth of 174.88 Bitcoins is over $10.2 million.
Blockchain tracker Whale Alert spotted this dormant Bitcoin wallet movement on Aug. 16.
174 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $10,162,306 today, have suddenly become active in a long-dormant digital wallet after over a decade of inactivity (equivalent to around $142,600 worth in 2014).
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 16, 2024
The transaction fee for the transfer was 67,500 satoshis, or $39.43, which is considerably low. However, per mempool details, this was still an overpayment of 50x that saw the $10.2 million transaction confirmed quickly.
As a researcher, I found that by October 2018, the cumulative value of my wallet’s assets was approximately $896,000. However, it wasn’t until the tail end of January 2021 that this figure surpassed the significant milestone of $5 million.
Based on information from Blockchair’s blockchain explorer, the current balance for those addresses is approximately 0.00004226 Bitcoins, which equates to around $2.50 given the current Bitcoin value of roughly $59,300 per BTC.
Bitcoin wallets waking up
Over the past few months, I’ve observed an increasing number of dormant Bitcoin wallets becoming active, transferring substantial amounts of BTC. It’s worth mentioning that addresses from the early days of Bitcoin creation by Satoshi Nakamoto – often referred to as the Satoshi-era addresses – have not been frequently seen in these transactions.
In the last few months, there have been several cryptocurrency wallets that were previously inactive becoming active again. One such wallet, which had been inactive for 12 years, moved $6.9 million worth of Bitcoin in July this year. Another wallet, dormant for over 14 years, transferred $3 million in Bitcoin to Binance in June.
Whale Alert also spotted this other dormant wallet movement.
⏳ An inactive bitcoin wallet holding approximately 18 bitcoins (equivalent to around $1,091,325 today) has suddenly become active again after a decade and three years (which would have been worth about $9,204 back in 2014)!
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 16, 2024
Approximately 18.3 million Bitcoins are currently stored in wallets that haven’t been active. Data from BitInfoCharts indicates a significant increase in these dormant wallets since early 2024, when the total number of such wallets held around 7.4 million coins.
Generally, investors closely monitor Bitcoin stored in inactive wallets, considering them possible contributors to increased selling pressure that could affect price levels. These ‘sell wall’ investors may find the prices difficult to move without significant volatility.
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2024-08-17 00:06