Bitcoin OG wallets move billions of dollars in BTC after 14 years of dormancy

After more than 14 years of inactivity, bitcoin wallet addresses holding 10,000 BTC each were activated on Thursday and Friday, according to onchain data.

On April 3, 2011, Bitcoin wallet address "1HqXB...gDwcK" transferred 23,377.83 BTC to three different destinations. Two of these addresses each received 10,000 BTC, while the third took the remaining 3,377.83 BTC, according to Blockchain.com data . Bitcoin was worth just $0.78 at the time, Lookonchain noted .

For 14 years, the two wallets that received 10,000 BTC each — "12tLs...xj2me" and "1KbrS...AWJYm" — remained dormant. This changed across late Thursday night and early Friday morning, when they moved their respective 10,000 BTC stashes to new addresses within 30 minutes of each other. The third wallet, which received 3,377.83 BTC, had already spent or moved its funds back in 2011.

The receiving addresses have not moved the bitcoin since. Receiving the 10,000 BTC is the first transaction recorded on both new addresses, moving from an older, less efficient bitcoin address format to a more modern, lower-fee format. 

Over the 14 years of dormancy, the 10,000 BTC in each wallet has appreciated by 13,982,800% in value, rising from a mere $7,800 to $1.1 billion. The exact reason for the transfers, and their owners' identity, remain unknown.

Lookonchain suggested the same entity controlled both addresses, as well as six other addresses that also received 10,000 BTC each on May 4, 2011, when the price of bitcoin had risen to $3.37. Those six addresses then subsequently transferred their 10,000 BTC later on Friday after more than 14 years of dormancy.

The world's largest cryptocurrency has managed to maintain a solid position above $100,000 in recent weeks, while analysts say a longer-term macro catalyst could boost bitcoin through its all-time high of around $112,000.

Updated to include additional details throughout.