The reactivation of bitcoin miner wallets from as far back as 2009 has sparked significant interest within the cryptocurrency sector on Friday. The wallets, dormant for 15 years, contain 250 BTC, which equates to a current value of approximately $15.9 million.
bitcoin Miner Wallets from 2009 Reactivated
According to on-chain data from Lookonchain, five wallets from 2009, each holding 50 BTC, were reactivated within an hour. The crypto funds from these wallets were mined shortly after the bitcoin blockchain’s launch on January 3, 2009.
Blockchain analytics reveal that one wallet received its mining reward on January 29, 2009, while three others were rewarded on January 31, and the final wallet earned its reward on February 2, 2009 – all before the first bitcoin halving in 2012. At that time, the reward for mining a block was 50 BTC, significantly higher than the current reward of 3.125 BTC.
When these coins were initially mined, they held minimal to no value. Nevertheless, bitcoin's remarkable price increase over the past decade has transformed them into a substantial fortune. The reactivation of these wallets has captured attention due to their prolonged dormancy and potential connections to bitcoin's early adopters.
As word spread about the reactivation, the crypto community began speculating about the wallets' owners. Some theorized that the wallets might belong to bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, or early contributors like Hal Finney, who received the first bitcoin transaction from Nakamoto on January 12, 2009.
Similar Dormant Satoshi-era Wallet Reactivation And bitcoin’s Price Reaction
This isn't the first instance of dormant wallets from bitcoin's early days becoming active. In June, a Satoshi-era wallet transferred 50 BTC, valued at $3.05 million, to binance after being dormant for 14 years. Similarly, last year, three bitcoin Whales moved 6,500 BTC, worth around $230 million, after nearly six years of inactivity, prompting concerns within the trading community.
While the reactivation of these bitcoin miner wallets did not immediately impact the price of bitcoin, the cryptocurrency experienced impressive growth this week. bitcoin saw an increase of more than 11%, rising from $57,600 to $64,000 in the last seven days, although it slightly retreated to $63,435 at the time of writing.
The rally in bitcoin's price is largely attributed to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points – the first such reduction in four years, hinting at a potential shift in monetary policy.
