Old Bitcoin Resurfaces After Switching Wallets – Cryptopolitan
Bitcoin bought in 2011, which has been untouched for almost 12 years, came back to life on Thursday when the 139 BTC address belonging to 1H1Ab6 moved into a newly created Segwit address. These coins are part of what is known as Ancient Supply, and refer to BTC purchased at least 7 years ago.
Old Bitcoins move across wallets
This is not the first time that old assets have come back to life, this year has seen a significant amount of movement from old Bitcoin, with 3,200 BTC being revived – 1,100 of which are from before 2013, according to a report from Glassnode.
The owner of 139 BTC bought them in June 2011 for just over $2,250 and watched them grow to a staggering $3.5 million at Bitcoin’s current price tag. Last March, the market saw a truly ancient wallet – created in October 2010 when the price was an obscene $0.19 – sell off 429 BTC.
A year later, in February 2023, another Satoshi-era address moved 412 BTC worth $9.6 million after more than a decade. It’s hard to tell whether these movements are related to the sale of the coins or simply personal custody practices, and given Bitcoin’s pseudonymous nature, we may never fully know who these ancient coins belong to or what their owners are doing with them.
Glassnode says that it is less likely that holders will sell
However, Glassnode, an analytics provider in the chain, offers some insight. According to the company, dormant coins are increasingly unlikely to be sold after 155 days, but when these are sold, they may signal a change in conviction.
A recent newsletter from the company showed that the number of Bitcoin held long-term is growing by 100,000 BTC per month. Despite the recent moves, many consider the majority of Bitcoin’s ancient supply lost forever.
Of 4.25 million old coins, only 356,000 have been used, and the remaining coins are unlikely to move anytime soon. These coins can be locked away in lost or forgotten wallets or held by individuals waiting for the right time to sell them.
It’s also worth noting that the Bitcoin network is built to be self-auditing, meaning it can detect when an address is no longer available, so these lost coins can be removed from circulation permanently. This helps ensure that the total supply of Bitcoin remains limited, with only 21 million coins ever in existence.
The recent movements of ancient Bitcoin have created a stir in the market, and most of these coins remain untouched and are unlikely to move anytime soon. Nevertheless, the growing number of long-term owners and the network’s self-auditing ensure that the total supply of Bitcoin remains limited and highly valued.
