$8.6B in Satoshi Era Bitcoin Moved in Historic Transfer from Dormant Wallets
$8.6B in ‘Satoshi Era’ Bitcoin Moved in Historic Transfer Across Eight Dormant Wallets
Eight wallets linked to early Bitcoin miners awaken after 14 years, triggering speculation across the crypto community.
In an unprecedented event, over 80,000 BTC — worth approximately $8.6 billion — mined during the "Satoshi era" were moved on Friday in what has become the largest transfer of dormant bitcoin ever recorded.
The Satoshi era refers to the period between 2009 and 2011, when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was still active. Coins from this time are among the rarest and most closely-watched assets in crypto, often considered untouchable relics from the dawn of blockchain.
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Two Legendary Wallets Wake Up
As initially reported by CoinDesk, two wallets that had remained inactive since April 3, 2011, each moved 10,000 BTC to new addresses on Friday. At the time these wallets received the coins, bitcoin was trading at just $0.78. Each wallet now holds over $1.1 billion worth of BTC — a jaw-dropping 13.9 million percent gain.
The origin of the coins traces back to the legendary wallet “1HqXB…gDwcK,” which sent 23,377 BTC to three separate addresses in 2011. Two of those wallets — “12tLs…xj2me” and “1KbrS…AWJYm” — remained dormant until this week.
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Six More Wallets Join the Movement
Late Friday, blockchain intelligence firm Arkham flagged six additional wallets, each moving large sums of Satoshi-era BTC within a short timeframe. Together, the eight wallets transferred over 80,000 BTC, stirring massive speculation.
> “A single entity moved $8.6 BILLION of BTC from 8 addresses in the past day... The Bitcoin was originally received on either 2nd April or 4th May 2011,” Arkham noted in a tweet.
All eight wallets are believed to be controlled by a single entity, although no individual or organization has claimed ownership as of Saturday morning (Asia time). The funds were transferred to new SegWit-format addresses, indicating a modernized transaction setup with lower fees — but none of the BTC has moved further since.
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Why This Matters
Satoshi-era coins are considered crypto’s holy grail, not just for their age but also for the mystery surrounding their owners. When coins of this vintage move, traders and analysts often speculate whether early adopters are about to sell, potentially signaling market shifts.
So far, however, there are no signs that the transferred BTC will be sold. The new wallet addresses remain inactive, and the identity behind them remains a mystery.