October Resurgence: Decade-Old Bitcoin Wallets Awaken, Moving Over $50 Million in Vintage BTC

Though Bitcoin’s value has risen from its position last month, September saw a surge in dormant Bitcoin transfers from long-inactive BTC wallets. This trend hasn’t slowed; in the initial week of October, several 2014 wallets came alive, moving 860 BTC — valued at over $24 million — in 86 separate transactions on October 4, 2023. Additionally, a wallet from 2013 sprung into action, transferring 500 BTC in just one transaction on the same day. Moreover, another 426 BTC from a 2012 wallet was shifted this week.

Dormant Bitcoin Whales Resurface, Transferring Tens of Millions of Dollars in BTC

Old-school bitcoiners have been actively moving substantial bitcoin amounts in October 2023, as highlighted by btcparser.com. As we stepped into the month, following September’s flurry of old BTC transfers, the momentum of reawakening idle wallets hasn’t waned.

One of the week’s most captivating transactions involved a staggering 860 BTC — valued slightly above $24 million at current exchange rates — split amongst 86 distinct wallets. All these wallets, curiously, sprung to life nine years after their creation on January 3, 2014.

Each one made a 10 BTC transfer on October 4, 2023, scattered across varied block heights. There’s an undeniable certainty that these wallets, dormant for nearly a decade, belong to a single individual, given the identical wallet creation and transaction dates.

Further, onchain analysis and heuristics underscore this singular ownership. Blockchair’s privacy tool wasn’t too kind either, assigning low scores to the 86 transactions, citing vulnerabilities like repeated address inputs.

Intriguingly, all 86 wallets, each holding 10 BTC, employed the “send everything” feature to “sweep” funds to their subsequent addresses. Originally established as legacy addresses, they now reside within P2SH (Pay to Script Hash) addresses.

Furthermore, this week an address dating back to August 10, 2014, sprung to action, transferring 46 BTC. Following the flurry of 86 transactions from that period, another wallet, established on January 30, 2014, shifted 12.56 BTC.

Moreover, a long-forgotten wallet from July 11, 2013 — over a decade old — recently reawakened, transferring a hefty 504.99 BTC. This treasure, valued at $14 million at today’s rates, was also moved on October 4, 2023.

Blockchair’s privacy tool assigned the 2013 transaction a “moderate rating,” pointing out repeated appearances of the same address in its inputs and identifying it as a “sweep” send. As of this writing, these funds are nestled in a P2SH address.

Blockchain parsers also spotted two dormant bitcoin addresses from 2012 springing to life this week. On October 6, 2023, at block height 810,927, a transfer of 200 BTC emerged from “12FmJ,” an address stamped with an October 26, 2012 creation date.

This transfer’s privacy was notably weak, showcasing matched addresses, according to Blockchair. Following this, at block height 810,967, another snoozing 2012 address dispatched 226 BTC on the same day.

This latter address, “1GYPe”, originated on November 10, 2012, and similarly displayed minimal privacy efforts during its October 6, 2023 transaction. The collective 426 BTC from both wallets carries a current market value of close to $12 million.

As October unfolds, we may witness a spooky trend of dormant bitcoin wallet transactions from yesteryears. The month has already served up its share of surprises, and while numerous long-term holders remain steadfast in their “hodling,” it’s evident that some are charting a different course.

What do you think about the idle bitcoin wallets awakening in October? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.