The whales are on the move. An O.G. Bitcoin address holding 500 coins — worth $31.8 million at today’s prices — shifted its stash on Tuesday after not budging for 12 years.
Blockchain data shows that the legacy Bitcoin address moved all the funds in one go, paying just 191 sats, or $0.12, in transaction fees.
First flagged by Lookonchain on X, the address piqued Bitcoiners’ interest due to the recent wallet drainage happening with Coldcards, with some speculating that the HODLer moved the funds to a safer place.
Hackers last week started taking over $35 million in Bitcoin from wallets after discovering a vulnerability in the Coldcard wallet product software.
Now, the amount drained could stand at $130 million, according to Galaxy Research, which said Monday that it was investigating a fourth wave of attacks.
Bitcoin that sits still for so many years is often attributed to lost coins — amateur investors often forget the private keys to their digital wallet.
But whales — an investor or investors holding over 1,000 Bitcoins — occasionally move funds after many years, leading to big market moves as other investors often expect a big sale.
Sometimes whales are just moving their Bitcoin to a hardware wallet or consolidating their coins.
Following the Coldcard security issue, Bitcoiners have been urging investors to get their coins to a new security setup. Coinkite, the company behind Coldcard, said on Sunday that all of its models were now vulnerable following more thefts.
Engineers have warned that all Bitcoin addresses related to Coldcard could be at risk eventually.
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.