Earlier this week, a large amount of Bitcoin (BTC) acquired through mining during the network’s early stages was moved, joining a rare case of “Satoshi-era” Bitcoin being moved.

More than 1,000 BTC from early miners was moved to trading desks and custodian services on December 4, according to on-chain data firm CryptoQuant, which shared with CoinDesk in a December 7 report. These tokens were moved between August and November 2010, 13 years ago, and are believed to have been mined from block rewards at an estimated total cost of $100.

The address “35BRV3y2tEJNCHbmVtAe3kXNckYgu8X7av” received 999.99BTC in a single transaction, and immediately after receiving it, sent the bitcoins it held to multiple addresses.

The transferred Bitcoins were eventually consolidated into the address “1CzBL1pEudgqeTtoyPLtrVQHo7nYAZxmKZ”, which currently holds 1028 BTC.

These Bitcoins are worth $40 million (approximately 6 billion yen) at the current price. The Satoshi era generally refers to the period from late 2009 to 2011, when Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto was active on online forums.

“We believe this early miner sent 1000 BTC to an OTC or custodian service for sale,” a CryptoQuant analyst told CoinDesk. “The transaction pattern of the receiving address suggests that the Bitcoin may have been sent to an OTC or custodian service.”

Since the beginning of 2023, some “Satoshi era” Bitcoins have started to move. In July, the wallet, which had been dormant for 11 years, wasSend assets worth $30 million (approximately 4.5 billion yen) to other wallets.another wallet in AugustSent 1005BTC to new address.

These moves come as the price of Bitcoin has more than doubled since the beginning of the year, and there is renewed optimism about Bitcoin’s adoption.

Bitcoin prices have risen dramatically in recent weeks as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be approved in the US and traders are pricing in expected interest rate cuts in the US. Bitcoin-friendly leaders are now at the helm in major countries (driving higher-risk bets like tech stocks and Bitcoin), and it could be adopted at the national level. It is believed to be in the background.

｜Translation: CoinDesk JAPAN
｜Edited by: Toshihiko Inoue
｜Image: Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Budapest, Hungary (Wikipedia)
｜Original: Early Bitcoin Miner Apparently Sent 1,000 ‘Satoshi Era’ BTC to Trading Desks This Week