Ancient Bitcoin Wallet Awakens

According to Arkham Intelligence, an ancient Bitcoin wallet containing a significant $3 million BTC stockpile has reawakened after years of dormancy, transferring part of its holdings to major crypto exchange Bitstamp.

In a tweet, Arkham Intelligence highlighted the awakening of a 13-year-old whale with $3.17 million BTC from mid-2011. Whale Alert reported that a dormant address containing 50 BTC worth $3,173,594 has just been activated after 13.3 years.

This wallet, Arkham Intelligence notes, had not made a single move since receiving the coins 13 years ago. After its reactivation, the Bitcoin wallet sent 20 BTC valued at $1.27 million to Bitstamp.

Old Bitcoins on the Move

In a recent tweet, CryptoQuant emphasized that old Bitcoins are currently being moved, noting a significant increase in the movement of coins from various age bands during Bitcoin’s recent uptick, with continuous transfers occurring on the BTC blockchain.

Arkham Intelligence also reported another Bitcoin whale with $77 million BTC, mined in Bitcoin’s first two months, has recently transferred 5 BTC to Kraken. These wallets date back to the “Satoshi era,” when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was active on public forums between late 2009 and 2011.

Arkham Intelligence estimates that this whale still holds 1,215 BTC worth $77 million. According to his address, the Bitcoin stockpile was mined in February and March of 2009, shortly after Bitcoin’s launch.

After several transfers from 2011 to 2014, the Bitcoin in this wallet was dormant for nearly 10 years, during which its value surged from $474,000 to over $80 million. This whale woke up about three weeks ago and has transferred 10 Bitcoins to Kraken so far in three separate transactions.

This activity follows another instance where an early Bitcoin whale, who also mined around the same period, emerged after 15 years of dormancy to move $16 million of BTC, raising questions regarding why these early Bitcoin whale wallets are now suddenly becoming active again.

This article was originally published on U.Today