Five Bitcoin miner wallets that haven’t been used in more than 15 years have surprisingly began shifting their funds all of a sudden.
Originally mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the mystery developer of Bitcoin, the wallets, each containing 50 Bitcoin (BTC) as a block prize, date back to the early days of the cryptocurrency and soon after the blockchain become operational in 2009.
Blockchain records revealed on September 20, 2024 that BTC had been leaving these wallets. As a result, the crypto community developed a lot of queries and rumors.
One wallet’s block payment was notably transferred on January 29, 2009, to three others on January 31, 2009. The last wallet earned its prize on February 2, 2009.
The Blockchain of Bitcoin began active on January 3, 2009. Inspired by the world financial crisis of the moment, Nakamoto mined the historic “genesis block” and included a piece from The Times newspaper into the code.
Nakamoto discussed publically on January 9, 2009, the ways of mining and trading BTC using These specifics suggest that some of the initial BTC miners were most likely the owners of the five lately active wallets. They can even be Nakamoto himself or even belong inside his close gang.
In 2009, when these 250 BTC were mined, they were not worth much. Bitcoin’s value rose over time and reached $1 for the first time in 2011. That same year, Nakamoto stopped being seen by the public. According to CoinGecko, the 250 BTC are now worth about $15.9 million, since one Bitcoin is worth about $63,000 today.
Bitcoin Speculation Grows As Dormant Wallets Reactivate
There was a lot of conjecture in the Bitcoin scene when news of the inactive wallets leaked out. Some X (previously Twitter) users made the humorous conjecture that the wallet owners might have discovered an old hard drive with a lot of riches within. Some joked and said the owner might have came out of a coma to learn she was billionaire.
Still, many Bitcoin enthusiasts developed more pragmatic ideas. Some believe the wallets belong to Hal Finney, a well-known software developer from one of the original Bitcoin back-off offerings. Few days after the network went up, Finney allegedly received the first BTC from Nakamoto on January 12, 2009.
Nakamoto is still among the most mysterious names available in the BTC sector. The surprising movement of these early Bitcoin miner wallets has generated fresh discussion on whether Nakamoto is even interacting with BTC or if she is still observing it. Given the wallets’ period and historical relevance, some believe Nakamoto could be behind it.
Whether this comes from early adopter lost, a chance rediscovery, or anything more significant is yet unknown.
Still, everyone working in the cryptocurrency space is closely observing these wallets since everything connected to the early years of Bitcoin usually generates a lot of attention and debate.
