Several early Bitcoin miners, active since the Satoshi era of January 2009, have recently moved their 50 Bitcoin (BTC) block rewards. This rare activity has sparked attention in the crypto community, as the coins were part of the original mining rewards from the early days of Bitcoin’s existence.
In an unusual event, multiple dormant wallets became active. These wallets, associated with the initial phase of Bitcoin mining, moved their coins within a short period. Five entities shifted their balances from known addresses, and all transactions were moved to new CoinJoin address formats, where 50 BTC minus transaction fees were deposited into fresh wallets.
One wallet had been inactive since February 2, 2009. This period coincided with when only a few miners, including the mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto, were actively producing blocks. The oldest address in this group dates back to January 29, 2009. It is worth noting that none of the wallets have been identified as belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto. However, speculation remains about their possible links to other early miners like Hal Finney.
Movement of BTC from the early mining period
The recently moved coins originated from some of the first 3,000 Bitcoin blocks. Satoshi Nakamoto was highly active during this period, mining a significant portion of Bitcoin’s supply. One notable wallet involved in this transaction mined block 2,486. Interestingly, this block deviates from the block pattern typically associated with Satoshi’s mining activities. While Satoshi continued mining until around block 50,000, those coins remained unmoved.
The transfer occurred shortly after another old Bitcoin wallet moved 59 BTC. This 13-year-old wallet split the coins into multiple transactions before sending them to Coinbase. Despite these movements, the Bitcoin market remains stable due to its ability to absorb large transactions from whales and other holders.
BCH Hard fork still intact for early miners
These coins hold significant value in Bitcoin and are also eligible for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rewards from the 2017 hard fork. One miner’s wallet still retains the 50 BCH block reward, worth nearly $17,000. None of the wallets have moved their BCH or attempted to split their coins. Though eligible for other hard forks, the additional coins are mostly worthless.
Concerns over possible exploits or cracked wallets
Although the movement of 250 BTC from early mining wallets does not have a major market impact, it has raised concerns about potential security risks. The senders of these transactions attempted to conceal the origin of the coins by splitting them into smaller outputs and then merging them again.
Some experts fear the wallets may have been compromised through an exploit. This suspicion grew as only five wallets were affected, leaving their BCH balances untouched. Early wallets can be vulnerable to various forms of attack, including the theft of keys through malicious apps or discovering old keystone files on outdated hard drives.
Despite these concerns, the original miners may simply be reclaiming some of their long-held assets. Each block reward now has a value of over $3 million, making additional BCH rewards less significant. As Bitcoin’s recovery is recently nearing $64,000, some traders speculate it is poised for a new all-time high in 2024.