A group of Bitcoin wallets from the early days of the network moved funds for the first time in over 15 years today. Each of the five wallets received 50 BTC in 2010 as a block reward and had remained untouched until now.
The wallets, first used in April 2010, moved 250 BTC on Thursday. At current prices, the coins are worth nearly $30 million. The activity comes as Bitcoin trades close to its record high, and adds to a recent trend of old wallets becoming active again.
Lookonchain, an onchain translation tracker, noted that the coins were sent to addresses starting with “bc1q,” which follow the newer SegWit format. This likely means the person behind the move used an updated wallet. It also identified the transaction trail and confirmed the legacy addresses, which start with the older “1” prefix.
Whale Held Bitcoin from $0.003 to $118K Price Levels
When those blocks were mined in 2010, Bitcoin traded at around $0.003, making each 50-BTC reward worth just 15 cents at the time. Power costs to mine one block were minimal, with most miners using consumer CPUs.
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average power rate in 2010 was about 11.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, meaning it may have cost under $1 in electricity to mine a full block.
The movement of old coins has become more frequent in recent months. In July, other decade-old wallets also moved thousands of BTC as institutional activity pushed prices near all-time highs.
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is now trading at $118,480, up more than 27% since the start of the year, and just below its all-time high of $122,838.As older wallets continue to become active, the movements may reflect changes in how long-term holders manage their assets, particularly with rising prices and evolving custody practices.
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