Lost Treasure Found? Bitcoin Miner Transfers Over $3 Million BTC After 14-Year Dormancy

Samuel Edyme

1 year ago

3 mins read

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According to the on-chain analysis platform Lookonchian, a long-dormant Bitcoin (BTC) wallet dating back to April 2010, recently transferred 50 BTC, equivalent to $3.328 million.

Unraveling The Transaction: An Exploration of Potential Motives

As reported by Lookonchian, 50 BTC mined over 14 years ago, when each block reward was 50 BTC, was divided into two transactions: 17 BTC ($1.1 million) for one wallet and 33 BTC ($2.2 million) for another.

The recipient wallet receiving 17 BTC has shown patterns of frequent transactions, possibly indicating its association with a cryptocurrency exchange, particularly Coinbase.

The analysis further reveals that the Bitcoin sent to this wallet was subsequently merged with funds from other wallets associated with Coinbase, suggesting a possible deposit into the exchange.

A miner wallet woke up after being dormant for nearly 14 years and deposited 50 $BTC($3.28M) to #Coinbase 5 mins ago.

The miner earned 50 $BTC from mining on Apr 23, 2010, and has been holding it to this day.

Address:
15sxzZ4QSaoiMo5KYH9ab4xQj34yeJmKgb pic.twitter.com/DRw9U5Xy8N

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 15, 2024

On the other hand, the remaining 33 BTC were transferred to a new wallet. This could indicate that this Bitcoin may have effectively remained within the miner’s control but under a new address, a common practice to enhance transaction privacy.

Bitcoin Recovery Amid Impending Halving

This recent activity coincides with Bitcoin’s rebound following a sharp decline that saw its price plummet from over $70,000 to $62,000 over the weekend. However, at the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $64,109, marking a 0.5% increase in value over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) price chart on TradingView — BTC price is moving sideways on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTC/USDT on TradingView.com

This surge in price comes amidst anticipation of the upcoming Bitcoin Halving scheduled to take place in the next 5 days on April 20.

Notably, the Bitcoin Halving is a programmed event that occurs approximately every four years or after every 210,000 blocks are mined. Bitcoin miners’ reward for validating transactions and securing the network is cut in half during this event.

When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, the reward was initially set at 50 BTC per block. However, the reward has been halved, reducing the rate at which new BTC is created. This adjustment is designed to control the supply of Bitcoin, making it more scarce over time and ultimately contributing to its deflationary nature.

Furthermore, recent reports indicate that BTC miners could face losses exceeding $10 billion due to the upcoming Halving event. As Bloomberg reported, this loss could result from several factors, including miners facing intensified competition from AI companies.

Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan noted the tightening availability of power in the US, driven partly by tech giants like Amazon investing heavily in data centers. This competition for resources presents further obstacles for miners seeking affordable power contracts.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradinView

Samuel Edyme

Meet Samuel Edyme, Nickname - HIM-buktu. A web3 content writer, journalist, and aspiring trader, Edyme is as versatile as they come. With a knack for words and a nose for trends, he has penned pieces for numerous industry player, including AMBCrypto, Blockchain.News, and Blockchain Reporter, among others.

Edyme’s foray into the crypto universe is nothing short of cinematic. His journey began not with a triumphant investment, but with a scam. Yes, a Ponzi scheme that used crypto as payment roped him in. Rather than retreating, he emerged wiser and more determined, channeling his experience into over three years of insightful market analysis.

Before becoming the voice of reason in the crypto space, Edyme was the quintessential crypto degen. He aped into anything that promised a quick buck, anything ape-able, learning the ropes the hard way. These hands-on experience through major market events—like the Terra Luna crash, the wave of bankruptcies in crypto firms, the notorious FTX collapse, and even CZ’s arrest—has honed his keen sense of market dynamics.

When he isn’t crafting engaging crypto content, you’ll find Edyme backtesting charts, studying both forex and synthetic indices. His dedication to mastering the art of trading is as relentless as his pursuit of the next big story. Away from his screens, he can be found in the gym, airpods in, working out and listening to his favorite artist, NF. Or maybe he’s catching some Z’s or scrolling through Elon Musk’s very own X platform—(oops, another screen activity, my bad…)

Well, being an introvert, Edyme thrives in the digital realm, preferring online interaction over offline encounters—(don’t judge, that’s just how he is built). His determination is quite unwavering to be honest, and he embodies the philosophy of continuous improvement, or “kaizen,” striving to be 1% better every day. His mantras, “God knows best” and “Everything is still on track,” reflect his resilient outlook and how he lives his life.

In a nutshell, Samuel Edyme was born efficient, driven by ambition, and perhaps a touch fierce. He’s neither artistic nor unrealistic, and certainly not chauvinistic. Think of him as Bruce Willis in a train wreck—unflappable. Edyme is like trading in your car for a jet—bold. He’s the guy who’d ask his boss for a pay cut just to prove a point—(uhhh…). He is like watching your kid take his first steps. Imagine Bill Gates struggling with rent—okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but you get the idea, yeah. Unbelievable? Yes. Inconceivable? Perhaps.

Edyme sees himself as a fairly reasonable guy, albeit a bit stubborn. Normal to you is not to him. He is not the one to take the easy road, and why would he? That’s just not the way he roll. He has these favorite lyrics from NF’s “Clouds” that resonate deeply with him: “What you think's probably unfeasible, I've done already a hundredfold.”

PS—Edyme is HIM. HIM-buktu. Him-mulation. Him-Kardashian. Himon and Pumba. He even had his DNA tested, and guess what? He’s 100% Him-alayan. Screw it, he ate the opp.

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