Two Bitcoin addresses holding 50 BTC each moved their coins on Friday after more than 16 years of inactivity. Blockchain tracking service Whale Alert flagged the first transfer at 4:08 a.m. UTC on November 13, when 50 BTC worth approximately $3.44 million moved from an address that had not spent its original mining reward since September 2010. Just over two minutes later, another 50 BTC moved from a separate wallet with an equally long history.
Mining rewards from 2010
The coins came from two blocks mined on September 8 and September 19, 2010, respectively. At that time, Bitcoin traded for roughly six cents, meaning each 50 BTC reward was worth about three bucks. With Bitcoin trading at around $68,800 per coin on Friday, the combined value of the 100 BTC reached approximately $6,885,068. This represents a 114,751,033% increase in market price. The movement involves "pay-to-public-key" inputs, which Mempool labels as P2PK.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total BTC moved | 100 BTC |
| Combined value | ~$6,885,068 |
| 2010 reward value | ~$3 per 50 BTC |
| Network fee per transaction | 1,110 satoshis |
By 4:48 a.m. UTC, about 20 BTC from the first transfer and 39 BTC from the second consolidated at a new address starting "bc1qj5". Another 30 BTC sits at an address starting "bc1qqs", 10 BTC at "bc1qds", and 1 BTC at "bc1qce". It remains unknown if this was a peer-to-peer transaction, an OTC sell, or a wallet switch for security reasons.
Ancient wallets wake up
This activity follows a trend where ancient Bitcoin wallets move at a pace rarely seen in previous years. Galaxy Research data from August showed Bitcoin untouched for at least a decade moving frequently. In one 10-day stretch, six wallets from 2011, 2012, and 2014 transferred 553.59 BTC worth more than $40 million. Some movements involve transfers to professional custodians rather than selling. Five 50 BTC rewards mined in April 2010 also moved to two SegWit addresses in July 2025, totaling $29.6 million.
