This weekend, four old Bitcoin wallets from 2012 became active again, moving 400 $BTC worth about $47.45 million. This was the first time these coins had moved in over 13 years. The news comes as Bitcoin’s price is up 4.2% compared to last week.
400 Bitcoins Come Back to Life
The wallets were created in June and July of 2012. Back then, the total 400 BTC was worth only $2,265. Today, they’re worth almost 21 million percent more. Three wallets were made on June 5, 2012, and the fourth on July 2, 2012.
Each wallet sent exactly 100 BTC to a new type of address (called a Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash or P2WPKH address). The coins are still sitting there and haven’t been sold. Interestingly, the Bitcoin Cash linked to these wallets, worth over $229,000, remains untouched.
Why Old Wallets Move
It’s rare to see wallets from 2010–2012 become active. When it happens, it often means the owner is upgrading to a newer, more secure wallet format or reorganizing their funds — not necessarily selling.
Recently, more old wallets have been waking up. Just three days ago, 3,000 BTC from 2015 wallets were moved for the first time.
From Pennies to Millions
Back in 2012, Bitcoin was worth just a few dollars. Now, those same coins are worth millions. For the owner of these 400 BTC, the value has grown by an unbelievable 20,949,877% since they first got them.
