Despite Bitcoin’s 10% Drop, Over $20M in Old Coins Find New Homes

For four days straight, bitcoin’s historic high of $108,000 has been in the rearview mirror, with the digital asset now dipping over 10% from its peak. Yet, while the price has cooled, long-dormant bitcoins are springing to life, making their way to new wallets.

From Dormant to Dynamic

In the past 12 hours, bitcoin has hovered between $96,850 and $97,400, reflecting a 10.3% slide since Dec. 17, 2024, when it shattered the $108,000 ceiling. While the drop may seem steep, it’s coincided with some fascinating moves from older bitcoin addresses. For instance, at block height 875,560, a wallet untouched since July 25, 2015, moved 44.99 BTC—its first activity since being created.

In reality, however, the same user actually shifted a total of 59.99 BTC, funneling funds from three legacy addresses (P2PKH) into two modern Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash (P2WPKH) wallets. Of that sum, 44.99 BTC originated from 2015 when the currency traded at a modest $290 per coin. Then, 43 blocks later, over a dozen legacy wallets from 2017 came alive, transferring tiny fractions of bitcoin—precisely 0.00000547 BTC—at block 875,603.

This peculiar pattern, sending slivers of bitcoin, cleverly masked a more substantial transfer. A closer inspection reveals a much larger 100 BTC move. Once the satoshis settled, a freshly minted P2WPKH wallet collected 99.999 BTC, valued at $9.7 million using current BTC exchange rates. The interesting behavior behind these vintage bitcoin moves certainly piqued the interest of onchain observers.

On Saturday, another golden oldie, a wallet dating back to Nov. 21, 2012, stirred after a 12-year hibernation, moving 104.99 BTC. Back in its heyday, each coin was worth just $11, making the total stash a mere $1,200. Today, it’s valued at over $10 million.

This transfer also migrated from a legacy P2PKH address to a newer P2WPKH address. These awakenings of long-slumbering bitcoin bring to light the crafty maneuvers of seasoned bitcoiners’ intent on protecting their fortunes within the ever-changing market. The dance between pseudo-anonymity and traceability in blockchain dealings keeps the mystery alive.

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