Lost Treasure Found? Bitcoin Miner Transfers Over $3 Million BTC After 14-Year Dormancy
According to the on-chain analysis platform Lookonchian, a long-dormant Bitcoin (BTC) wallet dating back to April 2010, recently transferred 50 BTC, equivalent to $3.328 million.
Unraveling The Transaction: An Exploration of Potential Motives
As reported by Lookonchian, 50 BTC mined over 14 years ago, when each block reward was 50 BTC, was divided into two transactions: 17 BTC ($1.1 million) for one wallet and 33 BTC ($2.2 million) for another.
The recipient wallet receiving 17 BTC has shown patterns of frequent transactions, possibly indicating its association with a cryptocurrency exchange, particularly Coinbase.
The analysis further reveals that the Bitcoin sent to this wallet was subsequently merged with funds from other wallets associated with Coinbase, suggesting a possible deposit into the exchange.
A miner wallet woke up after being dormant for nearly 14 years and deposited 50 $BTC($3.28M) to #Coinbase 5 mins ago.
The miner earned 50 $BTC from mining on Apr 23, 2010, and has been holding it to this day.
Address: 15sxzZ4QSaoiMo5KYH9ab4xQj34yeJmKgb pic.twitter.com/DRw9U5Xy8N
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 15, 2024
On the other hand, the remaining 33 BTC were transferred to a new wallet. This could indicate that this Bitcoin may have effectively remained within the miner’s control but under a new address, a common practice to enhance transaction privacy.
Bitcoin Recovery Amid Impending Halving
This recent activity coincides with Bitcoin’s rebound following a sharp decline that saw its price plummet from over $70,000 to $62,000 over the weekend. However, at the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $64,109, marking a 0.5% increase in value over the past 24 hours.
This surge in price comes amidst anticipation of the upcoming Bitcoin Halving scheduled to take place in the next 5 days on April 20.
Notably, the Bitcoin Halving is a programmed event that occurs approximately every four years or after every 210,000 blocks are mined. Bitcoin miners’ reward for validating transactions and securing the network is cut in half during this event.
When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, the reward was initially set at 50 BTC per block. However, the reward has been halved, reducing the rate at which new BTC is created. This adjustment is designed to control the supply of Bitcoin, making it more scarce over time and ultimately contributing to its deflationary nature.
Furthermore, recent reports indicate that BTC miners could face losses exceeding $10 billion due to the upcoming Halving event. As Bloomberg reported, this loss could result from several factors, including miners facing intensified competition from AI companies.
Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan noted the tightening availability of power in the US, driven partly by tech giants like Amazon investing heavily in data centers. This competition for resources presents further obstacles for miners seeking affordable power contracts.
Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradinView