$8.6 Billion in Bitcoin Moves After 14 Years of Inactivity

Last Friday, the crypto world witnessed an unprecedented event: 80,000 Bitcoins, dormant since 2011, were suddenly transferred to new addresses. This transaction, valued at an astounding $8.6 billion at current rates, marks the largest single-day Bitcoin movement in history.

Blockchain data reveals that the funds were shifted from eight wallets that had been in a "sleep" mode for over a decade – dating back to when Bitcoin was worth less than $4. The analytical platform Arkham Intelligence discovered that the transactions were executed in batches of 10,000 BTC over several hours.

Mysterious Miner and a Curious Test Transaction

The origin of these Bitcoins is particularly intriguing: they were received as mining rewards, suggesting the owner is one of the network's earliest participants. "This is an absolute record – previously, the largest similar transfer was only 3,700 BTC," emphasized Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant.

This unexpected activity sparked a wave of speculation among experts. Adding to the intrigue, a test transaction in Bitcoin Cash was made an hour before the main transfer, raising eyebrows among analysts.

Migration to New Addresses and Market Recovery

Analysts believe the most probable reason for this massive movement is a migration to modern "bc1q" format addresses. An analysis of the transfers showed no signs of a sale; the coins were simply moved between wallets.

The owner of these funds remains anonymous, but the scale of their past operations is impressive: they previously controlled around 200,000 BTC, placing them among the largest early holders. While some speculate connections to well-known Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, there's no confirmation of this theory.

Initial market panic led to a brief dip in BTC's price below $108,000, but after the circumstances became clearer, the cryptocurrency's value quickly recovered.