Bitcoin From Rare 'Satoshi Era' Moves After 14 Years of Dormancy

• An early crypto miner moved 50 BTC, worth over $3 million, after 14 years of inactivity, with part of the transfer ending up at crypto exchange Coinbase.
• The transaction joins the few instances of "Satoshi era" bitcoin movements, following other significant transfers in 2023.

An early crypto miner moved 50 bitcoin (BTC) today after 14 years of leaving the holdings untouched, data shows, joining the rare instances where bitcoin from the “Satoshi era” have been transferred.

The holdings, worth over $3 million as of Monday, were transferred to two wallets in Asian morning hours. Part of these transfers were eventually sent to crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), analysis tool Lookonchain said in an X post.

Blockchain data shows the miner received 50 bitcoin as a reward in April 2010, months after the network first went live when the token was worth only a few cents on the dollar.

That period is colloquially known as the Satoshi era, referring to the months when bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was active on online forums from late 2009 to 2011.

Several bitcoin wallets from that era have been active since the start of 2023. In July, a wallet that had been dormant for 11 years transferred $30 million worth of the asset to other wallets, while in August, another wallet transferred 1,005 BTC to a new address.

In December, over 1,000 bitcoins from an early miner were moved to trading desks and custodian services after a 13-year dormancy.

CORRECTION (APRIL 15, 2024): Corrects price in third paragraph.