An old Bitcoin wallet, which had not been used for almost ten years, suddenly started to work and sent 174.88 BTC which is equivalent to over $10.2 million. The wallet that received the Bitcoin on January 8, 2014, only transacted on August 16, 2024.
In 2014, the value of Bitcoin was at about $142,000 per BTC. Today, those 174.88 BTC are worth more than $10.2 million because of the Bitcoin price increase which has reached $73,000 before stabilizing at $59,300.
The transaction was noticed by blockchain observer Whale Alert and it had a rather low fee of 67,500 satoshis ($39.43). However, this fee was 50 times more than necessary which ensured that the transaction was confirmed quickly.
The wallet had approximately $896,000 in Bitcoins in October 2018 and was valued at more than $5 million by late January 2021. At the moment, the wallet’s balance is as low as 0.00004226 BTC, or $2.50.
Recently, several dormant Bitcoin wallets have reactivated, moving millions of dollars in Bitcoin and sparking market speculation. For example, a wallet transferred $6.9 million in July, and another sent $3 million to Binance in June after 14 years of inactivity.
As per BitInfoCharts, the number of Bitcoins in inactive wallets has increased from 7.4 million coins in January 2024 to 18.3 million now. These movements are closely monitored by the investors because they can develop into new supply pressures and higher market volatility.
The sudden activation of this old Bitcoin wallet highlights how Bitcoin’s value has skyrocketed over the past decade. It’s remarkable to see how $142,000 in 2014 has turned into over $102 million today.
Also Read: Bitcoin Steady at $61,000 Amid 2.9% U.S. CPI Rate