Suspected Early Bitcoin Miners Move Dormant 6,500 BTC After Years

Three Bitcoin (BTC) whale addresses suspected to belong to early miners have collectively transferred 6,500 BTC worth $230 million.

While unidentified, these three wallet addresses and the Bitcoin they contained had stayed dormant since 2017. Notably, the deposited 6,500 BTC in these wallets came on November 5, 2017.

Early Bitcoin Miners at Work?

One interesting aspect of this large Bitcoin transfer is the origin of the funds. Current permutations, according to Wu Blockchain, highlight the assets that originated from the early transfer of BTC as far back as July 2011.

Today three Bitcoin whale addresses transferred 6,500 Bitcoins to new addresses, totaling about $230 million. The Bitcoins in these three addresses were all transferred on November 5, 2017, and have been dormant since then. https://t.co/sRJDGQ26Gb

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 2, 2023

Data from Bitinfocharts also showed that some of the BTC in these wallets came from addresses linked to F2Pool. F2Pool is one of the early Bitcoin mining pools still in operation. The fact that the funds could come from F2Pool has triggered the idea that the owner(s) are among early Bitcoin miners.

The recent movement underscores the thesis that the plunge into dormancy did not happen by chance but by a premeditated move. While the transfer of the 6,500 BTC might have triggered attention, it is not the first Bitcoin whale transaction recorded in recent times.

As a complement to the massive movement of Bitcoin, an address, once tagged the third largest off-exchange holder of the asset, moved 132,000 BTC to exchanges in 3 days in July 2022. More recent whale movements feature accumulations and emergence from dormancy.

Why the Recent Re-Emergence of Bitcoin Whales?

One underlying trend in recent times is the emergence of Bitcoin whales making huge transfers. A primary explanation making the rounds is the fact that most of these whales are already in profit, considering the difference in purchase and sale prices.

The emergence of wallet addresses from dormancy is also common for other altcoins as well. From Ethereum to XRP, Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogecoin (DOGE), the number of whales taking advantage of the current bullish market valuation is high.