Early Bitcoin miner wallets awaken, moving $15 million after 15 years

Dormant Bitcoin miner wallets have resurfaced after roughly 15 years of inactivity to move 250 BTC, valued at over $15 million at current prices.

On Sept. 20, Lookonchain reported that five miner wallets, each of which received 50 Bitcoin as block rewards in 2009, were moving funds for the the first time in more than a decade.

On-chain data showed that the wallets received these mining rewards in early 2009 — a period that Bitcoin enthusiasts often refer to as the Satoshi era.

With Bitcoin presently trading at more than $63,000, the miners have held for an astounding gain of more than 1,000,000% in the value of the top digital asset, which was only worth a few cents at the time.

Who owns these wallets?

The movement of funds from old wallets, particularly from the Satoshi era, always stirs curiosity in the crypto community. The term “Satoshi era” refers to the period when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was still active, communicating online through forums between late 2009 and 2011.

Nakamoto mined the first block in January 2009. So, considering these wallets received their rewards shortly after Bitcoin’s launch, they likely belonged to individuals involved in its early days.

Some community members speculated that these early wallets could be connected to Nakamoto. However, since all five wallets moved funds on the same day, after more than a decade of silence, it’s plausible they belong to one or several related parties.

How many dormant wallets are left?

A Fortune report claimed that 1.75 million Bitcoin wallets have been inactive for over a decade. Many of these wallets hold significant amounts of BTC — purchased when prices were in the double digits— which are now worth millions.

These dormant wallets hold approximately 1,798,681 Bitcoin, currently valued at more than $120 billion.

In recent years, several Satoshi-era wallets have been activated, transferring BTC to new addresses. Some even moved funds to crypto exchanges, suggesting the owners may be seeking profits after nearly a decade of holding.