Lost Treasure Found? Bitcoin Miner Transfers Over $3 Million BTC After 14-Year Dormancy

Based on information from the cryptocurrency analysis tool Lookonchian, a Bitcoin wallet that has been inactive since April 2010 moved 50 Bitcoins, which is equal to approximately $3.328 million.

Unraveling The Transaction: An Exploration of Potential Motives

According to Lookonchian’s report, a total of 50 Bitcoin were mined around 14 years ago when each block reward was equivalent to 50 Bitcoins. Subsequently, these Bitcoins were transferred into two separate transactions: one transaction worth 17 Bitcoins ($1.1 million) went to one wallet, while the other transaction consisting of 33 Bitcoins ($2.2 million) was sent to another wallet.

seventeen Bitcoins transferred into a wallet are raising suspicions due to their frequent transaction activity, suggesting a link to a well-known cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase.

Further investigation uncovers that the Bitcoins transferred to this wallet were later combined with coins from other Coinbase-linked wallets. This could indicate a potential deposit to the exchange.

Fifteen years of inactivity passed for a cryptocurrency miner’s wallet before it recently transferred 50 Bitcoins, equivalent to around $3.28 million, to Coinbase just five minutes ago.
The miner earned 50 $BTC from mining on Apr 23, 2010, and has been holding it to this day.
Address:
15sxzZ4QSaoiMo5KYH9ab4xQj34yeJmKgb
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 15, 2024

Instead of sending the last 33 bitcoins to a different miner, they were moved to a fresh wallet. Such actions might imply that the miner retained ownership of these bitcoins, yet kept their transactions more confidential by using a new Bitcoin address.

Bitcoin Recovery Amid Impending Halving

Lately, Bitcoin’s bounce back occurs in tandem with this current event. Previously, its price took a nosedive from above $70,000 to $62,000 within the weekend. Yet, at present, Bitcoin is being exchanged for $64,109, representing a 0.5% price rise during the last day.

Lost Treasure Found? Bitcoin Miner Transfers Over $3 Million BTC After 14-Year Dormancy

The price increase occurs as people look forward to the upcoming Bitcoin Halving, set to happen in the next five days on April 20.

Significantly, the Bitcoin Halving refers to a built-in mechanism that takes place roughly every four years or following the mining of around 210,000 blocks. During this process, the incentive given to Bitcoin miners for confirming transactions and maintaining the network’s security is reduced by half.

When Bitcoin began in 2009, creators handed out 50 Bitcoins for each block mined as a reward. Yet, this reward has been decreased through halvings, slowing down the production of new Bitcoins. This change aims to manage Bitcoin’s supply, making it increasingly rare and contributing to its inherent deflationary character.

In addition, it has been estimated that BTC miners may sustain losses of over $10 billion following the upcoming Halving event. According to Bloomberg’s analysis, these potential losses can be attributed to several causes, one of which is increased competition from AI companies.

The CEO of Core Scientific, Adam Sullivan, pointed out the increasing scarcity of electricity in the United States, which is partially caused by tech companies such as Amazon intensively expanding their data center operations. This rivalry for power sources adds to the challenges faced by miners aiming to secure cost-effective energy agreements.

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2024-04-16 05:10