On July 4, 2025, the cryptosphere was shaken by an event as mysterious as it was unprecedented: 80,000 BTC — worth over 8.6 billion dollars — were moved after 14 years of inactivity đŸ˜±. In a few minutes, eight identical transactions were recorded, each transferring 10,000 BTC from wallets dating back to before 2011.




Before being moved, each of these wallets received a strange micro-transaction containing an OP_RETURN message. Some messages clearly displayed:


📜 'LEGAL NOTICE: We have taken possession of this wallet and its contents'

⏳ 'Not abandoned? Prove it by an on-chain transaction using private key by Sept 30'

🔗 And even a link to a pseudo-legal site, hosted by a mysterious entity named 'Salomon Brothers'.


This resembles a legal strategy of possession based on the doctrine of abandonment: a principle whereby a property can be claimed if it remains inactive for too long — unless the owner comes forward in time ⚖.



🎯 Hack, recovery, or simple bluff?


Two credible hypotheses are on the table:


đŸ’„ An exploited flaw? These old wallets may have been generated back then with low entropy, making their private keys vulnerable to an attack. The 'recoverer' would have then secured and legitimized them via a pseudo-legal procedure.

🎭 A psychological bluff? An ultra-targeted OP_RETURN spam campaign sending legal threats to scare legitimate holders into moving their BTC — thus revealing their effective control of the wallet.



🌀 An atmosphere of digital thriller


As if that wasn't strange enough, some messages contained:


🧼 The mystical numbers from the Lost series: 4 8 15 16 23 42

đŸ€Ź An address starting with '1Fuck
'

🎹 Symbols evoking an artistic performance, or at minimum a sophisticated staging.


We thus oscillate between a coldly executed hacking operation and conceptual crypto-art worthy of a Web3 Banksy.



🧭 Why it's a major event

⚠ Stakes💡 What it implies

🔐 Wallet security risks related to old keys and weak generators.

📚 Law & crypto A new legal frontier between abandonment and digital ownership.

🧠 Psychology & strategy A textbook case of information warfare in the blockchain.


📌 In summary



80,000 BTC moved, strange legal messages, a film noir atmosphere set against the blockchain...

A mix of law, cybersecurity, and digital art that raises a single question:

Are we facing a genius hack, a cutting-edge legal operation... or an ultra-stylized hoax?



📚 Source: Cryptoast.fr

#bitcoin