After a long slumber, two dormant Bitcoin wallets that had acquired a total of 1,000 Bitcoins over a decade ago have suddenly awakened and transferred out the coins. The value of these Bitcoins stands at a staggering $61 million based on current rates. These wallets have been inactive since they each received 500 Bitcoins in September 2013 when the price of Bitcoin was only $134.
The awakening of the wallets was observed on May 12th when the first wallet address made a transfer at 7:10 pm UTC, with the second wallet following suit soon afterward. The hefty hoard of virtual currency they transferred is now 456 times greater than the initial acquisition price, falls in line with the dramatic rise in the price of Bitcoin over the years.
Following the transaction, the receiving address from the first wallet has already forwarded the 500 Bitcoins to several other wallets. In contrast, the second receiving address continues to hold onto its 500 Bitcoins. Experts, based on the pattern of inward and outward transfers, suspect that the two wallets could be owned by the same individual or entity.
Notably, before these massive transactions, the two addresses were tied in the position as the 4,353rd largest Bitcoin whales. Interestingly, the awakening of these wallets is not a solitary event. About every month, at least one of these early, dormant Bitcoin wallets surfaces to make transactions. However, nearly 1.8 million Bitcoin addresses have been dormant for over a decade, accounting for about 8.5% of the total Bitcoins in existence.
The reasons for this sudden movement are unclear. Some think that the owners have decided to cash in on the high value of Bitcoin, while others suggest the wallets may be moving funds to a newer, more secure system. Regardless, the crypto world will definitely be watching for more surprise movements from these sleepy Bitcoin giants.