An ancient Bitcoin address that laid practically dominant for over a decade came back to life on Friday — transferring 279 Bitcoins worth $7.8 million to new wallets.

Another Dormant Bitcoin Whale Awakens

A Bitcoin whale that had not transacted in over 10 years suddenly came online today.

In October 2012 and May 2013, the wallet received some 1,128 Bitcoin ($31.6 million), according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. Back then, Bitcoin was worth $12 and $195, respectively. No coins went in or out of that wallet until today when the owner transferred $279 BTC worth approximately $7.8 million to three different addresses.

A decade ago when the wallet received its 1,128 bitcoin, investors may have had limited expectations about the price of the OG cryptocurrency and traded it as if it was chump change. At current prices, people who held onto the crypto basically became Bitcoin whales.

This latest transfer came just a day after another ancient wallet moved 2,071.5 BTC — worth $60.7 million — after lying dormant for over nine years. This particular whale acquired 6,071.5 BTC on Dec. 19, 2013, when Bitcoin’s price was around $663.

While sizable Bitcoin trades occur on a daily basis, it’s not often that coins that old see the light of day again. Some suggest that when old coins are being spent more often, it may indicate a shift in confidence to hold the crypto asset — often spurred by periods of market volatility.

Bitcoin continued its slump Friday for the third consecutive day, dropping 2.33% over the last 24 hours to just above $28,000 as traders seem to move away from risky assets. The top crypto has lost around 8.06% since last Friday. Bitcoin’s slide dragged the rest of the crypto market with it, with the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies dropping by 2.4% to $1.23 trillion, per CoinGecko data. 

All in all, one positive development for the crypto world on Thursday: the European Parliament passed the long-awaited MiCA crypto law, becoming the first major jurisdiction to do so.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ April 21, 2023 10:16 pm