$60 Million Bitcoin Wallet "Wakes Up" After Nearly 12 Years

A Bitcoin wallet that has been dormant for nearly 12 years suddenly transferred 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC), equivalent to about $60 million USD.

$60 Million Bitcoin Wallet Awakens After Nearly 12 Years. Photo: Bitcoin.com News

1,000 BTC Moved After 12 Years

According to on-chain findings, a whale wallet that received 1,000 BTC in 2012, valued at around $12,000 USD at the time, unexpectedly transferred this Bitcoin to a new address after almost 12 years of dormancy.

The wallet had received 1,000 BTC approximately 11 years and 9 months ago and had not seen any transactions until last Sunday. However, according to Blockchain.com, this transaction occurred on January 19, 2024.

Source: Blockchain.com

The whale wallet was discovered by Whale Alert. At the time of the transfer, the Bitcoin in the wallet was valued around $12,100 USD. After nearly 12 years of holding, its value has increased by 500,000%.

The reason for this transaction and the identity of the wallet's owner remain unclear at this time. As of the time of writing, the wallet holds approximately $41.6 million USD.

Other Whale Wallet Awakenings

A series of other large Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for over 5 years have also come to life recently. Just 10 days ago, another wallet dormant for 12 years transferred nearly $7 million USD.

On May 12, 1,000 BTC worth over $60 million USD was moved after a decade. This followed a deposit of 687.33 BTC worth over $44 million USD, also moving for the first time in 10 years just a week prior.

In March, the fifth-largest Bitcoin wallet in the world, dormant since 2019, unexpectedly moved $6 billion USD. Another entity also consolidated 140 million USD of Bitcoin mined in 2010 into a single wallet in the same month.

In January of this year, nearly 50,000 inactive Bitcoin woke up in less than a week after the launch of Bitcoin Spot ETFs in the United States.

Typically, wallets depositing funds onto exchanges are likely preparing to sell. However, transactions transferring funds to other wallets are likely to enhance security while maintaining ownership trends.

According to Chainalysis and Fortune, there are currently 1.75 million inactive Bitcoin wallets for over a decade. These wallets are estimated to hold about 1.8 million Bitcoin, valued at $120 billion USD, representing 8.5% of the total supply.

Bitcoin prices have not only remained stable but have surged to nearly $62,700 USD on the morning of July 15, indicating that the crypto market continues to react to news, including the recent attempt to assassinate U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump.