Two Bitcoin wallets inactive for 14 years transferred a combined 20,000 BTC, valued at approximately $2.18 billion, on July 4. The transactions originated from separate addresses that held 10,000 BTC since April 3, 2011, when the asset price was roughly $0.78.
The analytics account Lookonchain first flagged the on-chain movements, which detailed the two separate 10,000 BTC transfers that occurred within minutes of each other.
Blockchain data confirms both wallets, 12tLs9c9RsALt4ockxa1hB4iTCTSsmxj and 1KbxrSKrT3GeETuuYUSQ35JwkbrAw, were funded on the same day from a single source address, pointing to a common owner.
The original acquisition cost for the total 20,000 BTC was approximately $15,610, representing a return of about 140,000 times the initial investment, or around 14 million percent.
This event involves the movement of capital from the network’s earliest days, a period often referred to as the “Satoshi era.”
While such transfers can create apprehension in the market about a large volume of coins being sold, the nature of these specific transactions adds more texture to the event.
One block of 10,000 BTC was sent to a legacy Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) address, while the other was directed to a modern Bech32 SegWit address.
The use of different address types could be interpreted as a sophisticated holder managing assets rather than a straightforward liquidation.
The movement represents a consolidation of a vast, long-dormant fortune, and a transfer is distinct from a sale on an exchange. However, it is possible that an OTC trade is being prepared.
The 20,000 BTC now resides in two new addresses, with the owner’s ultimate intentions for the capital yet to be revealed through further on-chain action.
