100 BTC Mined in 2010 Transferred After Over 16 Years of Dormancy

Approximately 100 Bitcoin (BTC), mined in September 2010 and dormant for over 16 years, were transferred on November 13th. The movement of these early-era coins, valued at roughly $6 at the time of mining and approximately $6.89 million upon transfer, has drawn attention due to their age and the technical implications associated with the format in which they were originally mined.

On-chain records show that two separate Bitcoin addresses, inactive since September 2010, each transferred out 50 BTC. The first transaction occurred around 12:08 PM Taiwan Time on November 13th, followed by the second approximately two minutes later. These transfers were made with transaction fees of 1,110 satoshis each, amounting to less than $1.

About 40 minutes after the initial transfers, on-chain data indicates that a portion of these coins was consolidated. Approximately 59 BTC from the two initial transfers were combined into a single transaction around 12:48 PM Taiwan Time. This consolidation suggests that the two addresses likely belonged to the same owner, as a single transaction requires private key signatures from multiple addresses.

Further movement occurred early on November 14th, when the consolidated 59 BTC were transferred again. The ultimate destination and purpose of this subsequent transfer remain unknown. As of the morning of November 14th, approximately 41 BTC from the initial transfers remained in newly created addresses.

The Bitcoin transferred originated from block rewards mined in September 2010. Whale Alert estimated the total 100 BTC was worth approximately $6 in 2010. By the time of the transfer on November 13th, its value had increased to an estimated $6.89 million. If valued at $67,634 per BTC on the morning of November 14th, the holdings were worth approximately $6.76 million.

These early mining rewards were issued in the P2PK (Pay-to-Public-Key) format. On-chain records show that public keys are directly recorded on the blockchain for this format. This characteristic has coincided with concerns within the cryptocurrency community that coins mined using P2PK may be at a higher risk from potential quantum computing attacks, as public keys are more readily accessible. The transferred coins have since been moved to new addresses starting with the ‘bc1q’ prefix, a more modern Bitcoin address format.

Similar movements of long-dormant Bitcoin have been reported previously. In October, an address transferred out 100.02 BTC that was mined in July 2010, valued at approximately $8.5 million at the time of its transfer, according to Crypto Briefing and Galaxy Research.

The identity of the owner of the two dormant Bitcoin addresses remains unknown, and the reason for transferring these coins has not been disclosed. It is also uncertain whether the transferred Bitcoin has been sold. The movement of these old, dormant coins highlights ongoing activity within the Bitcoin network and the evolving management of early-era digital assets.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: Two Bitcoin addresses, inactive since September 2010, transferred out 50 BTC each on November 13th. The identity of the owner of the two dormant Bitcoin addresses.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: 兩個沉睡 16 年的比特幣地址轉出 100 顆，當年只值 6 美元.