A Bitcoin wallet, inactive for over a decade, started transferring funds to the crypto exchange Kraken three weeks ago, moving a total of 10 BTC in three separate transactions.
This wallet belongs to an early Bitcoin miner from 2009, who resumed activity after ten years of silence. Just this past Tuesday, the wallet transferred an additional 5 BTC to Kraken, bringing its total transfers to around $300,000 at current market value.
In the past year, there’s been a rise in activity from Bitcoin wallets originating in the so-called “Satoshi era.” Notably, one such wallet moved $16 million worth of BTC after 15 years of inactivity. The term “Satoshi era” refers to the early days of Bitcoin, during which the network’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was still active online, roughly between 2009 and 2011.
Data from Arkham, an on-chain analysis tool, indicates that the Bitcoin miner behind this wallet was active between 2011 and 2014, occasionally moving BTC to other wallets or exchanges. However, the wallet remained dormant for nearly a decade after that, during which time its Bitcoin holdings skyrocketed in value—from just $474,000 to over $80 million.
Recently, moving large amounts of Bitcoin to exchanges is often interpreted as an indication of selling either for cash, stablecoins, or other cryptocurrencies. Additionally, last week saw activity from another “Satoshi era” wallet for the first time in 15 years, transferring $16 million in BTC to various wallets.
Over the past few years, several wallets dating back to Bitcoin’s early days have reawakened. In July 2023, one such dormant wallet transferred $30 million worth of Bitcoin, and in August, another moved 1,005 BTC to a new address. Last December, more than 1,000 BTC were sent to exchanges, likely to be sold, marking one of the largest transfers from the Satoshi era to trading platforms.
