OG bitcoin wallet from 2011 moves 3,962 BTC worth over $460M after 14 years of dormancy

A Bitcoin wallet that has sat dormant for over 14 years awoke early Thursday, sending 0.0018 BTC in an apparent test transaction before moving its full 3,962 coin trove worth roughly $468 million to a new address, data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham .

Blockchain records from bitinfocharts show the legacy account "15MZv...HjFUz" accumulated its entire balance in January 2011, when bitcoin changed hands at about $0.37, making the stash worth barely $1,453 at the time. The wallet’s owner—unknown and long assumed lost—hadn’t shifted any of the coins since then till today's transfer to address "bc1qc...udryz.

The reawakening extends a run of whale activity this month. On July 23, an early holder shifted 10,603 BTC now worth roughly $1.26 billion after years of dormancy, while another so‑called OG wallet moved 40,191 BTC to Galaxy Digital custody last week.

Speculators say veteran wallets may be shuffling massive holdings for potential sales as BTC’s floated near all-time highs. Others have focused on the identity of these whales and surmise that Satoshi Nakamoto could be behind the moves.

As The Block previously reported, Coinbase Director Conor Grogan believes at least one of these OG wallets is an early BTC miner from the famed Satoshi era. Solo BTC mining was far more lucrative and less competitive then, and miners could earn 50 BTC in block subsidies compared to 3.125 Bitcoins today.

Bitcoin traded around $118,500 in midday dealings, with flat activity during a broad market pullback,  The Block's price page shows.