Satoshi-Era BTC Wallets Spring to Life, Move $2.18B in Rare On-Chain Shuffle

Two Bitcoin (BTC) wallets that had been untouched for over 14 years suddenly moved their entire holdings of 20,000 BTC, worth around $2.18 billion, in a pair of rare transactions late Thursday.

On-chain data shared by Lookonchain shows that each wallet shifted 10,000 BTC within half an hour of each other, as they surprised market watchers who closely track such “Satoshi-era” movements.

Bitcoin OG Moves

The wallets originally received the bitcoin on April 3, 2011, when the price was just $0.78, meaning their holdings had appreciated by nearly 140,000 times since purchase.

At the time, the combined stash was worth about $15,600. The identity of the wallet owner or owners remains unknown, and it is unclear why the funds were moved now after over a decade of dormancy.

Such large, aged movements are rare and often trigger speculation about early miners, lost wallets being recovered, or potential institutional-grade sales. Although there has been no indication yet of a sell-off. In fact, Bitcoin’s price remained stable following the move, as it held above $108,000.

Market analysts are watching whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can build enough momentum to test its record highs near $118,000 amidst the sudden reawakening of these early wallets.

“Rare and Meaningful On-Chain Footprint”

According to CryptoQuant, the transaction patterns suggest these movements are likely genuine transfers with the intention to trade, rather than internal wallet reorganizations or security-related address changes.

This event could even mark the largest on-chain transfer by holders inactive for over a decade, surpassing the previous record of 3,700 BTC moved during the market’s bottom following the FTX collapse. CryptoQuant, however, said that assuming all activity by old holders is automatically bearish for the market is incorrect and added,

“At this point, the intent behind today’s move remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that this is a rare and meaningful on-chain footprint – and one that could potentially signal increased volatility in the near future.”