Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Wake Up After 16 Years, Moving $6.9 Million - Yahoo Finance

Blockchain tracking service Whale Alert flagged the first transfer at 4:08 a.m. UTC on November 13, when 50 BTC worth approximately $3.44 million moved from an address that had not spent its original mining reward since September 2010. Just over two minutes later, another 50 BTC moved from a separate wallet with an equally long history.

Massive Appreciation

Both transfers involved Bitcoin originally generated through mining, with coins coming from blocks mined on September 8 and September 19, 2010. Back then, Bitcoin traded for roughly six cents, meaning each 50 BTC reward was worth about three bucks. At Friday's transaction prices of around $68,800 per Bitcoin, their combined value had increased approximately 1,147,511 times.

That percentage measures the appreciation in Bitcoin's market price (what's known as unrealized gains), not money the holder has actually made by selling (which would be known as realized gains). In fact, it's unknown whether this was a peer-to-peer transaction, an OTC sell, or simply a wallet switch for security reasons.

Broader Trend

The transfers are part of a broader trend of ancient Bitcoin wallets waking up in 2026. According to Galaxy Research data highlighted in August, Bitcoin that had remained untouched for at least a decade was moving at a pace rarely seen in previous years. In one 10-day stretch alone, six wallets dating back to 2011, 2012, and 2014 transferred a combined 553.59 BTC, worth more than $40 million at the time.

Some of those movements have been linked to security concerns, wallet upgrades, or transfers to professional custodians rather than outright selling. Friday's activity adds another 100 BTC to the growing list of early Bitcoin holdings changing hands—or at least changing addresses—after more than a decade of silence. The blockchain provides a detailed record of where the money moved, but it doesn't reveal who controls the receiving wallets.