Regardless of the course, every year we observe BTC addresses that finally show activity. In November, after 5 years of inactivity, we just saw 6,522 bitcoins worth more than $108 million (approximately) being moved (with BTC at $16,675 on November 17, 2022). When filed on July 31, 2017, bitcoin was worth around $2,700. On the blockchain, we can follow the movements of the different addresses, and we are sometimes surprised at the result. One wonders what stories are related to the different owners of these addresses.
The 6,522 bitcoins sent to two different addresses
Despite a crypto market in full collapse, bitcoin remains the queen of cryptos. The hodlers have nothing to do with the course (compared to the FIATS). While in November 2021 BTC was hitting highs with an ATH of over $69,000, some whales are only waking up now, against an apocalyptic backdrop. On November 16, 2022, at the height of Bitcoin block 763,474, 6,522 BTC moved from one address to another. The equivalent in bitcoin cash did not move. block chair analyzed the transactions and their extreme lack of confidentiality: 20 attempted “dusting attacks” have taken place over the past 5 years.
Sleeping bitcoins change address
You can track transactions on the blockchain here or here. The old miners of the beginnings had, for some, accumulated a lot of BTC. It is seen that recently 3,500 bitcoins from 2011 were transferred for the first time in 11 years. In December 2021, 230 bitcoins traveled. Less impressive, an address created in 2011 moved 25 BTC (that’s over $400,000 anyway). On November 14, 2022, 50 bitcoin of May 2010 were transferred, after having been inactive for more than 12 years, at a time when the queen of cryptos was only worth a few cents.
Dormant bitcoin addresses: Before and after Satoshi Nakamoto
On the Bitinfocharts.com site, one can find the 9 dormant bitcoin addresses the most substantial. The first, created on March 1, 2011, “contains” 79,957 BTC (this is the eighth address best stocked). It can be assumed that most of the dormant addresses created between 2009 and 2011 belong to Satoshi Nakamoto or his collaborators.
The last message from the creator of bitcoin dates from April 2011. Since then, his bitcoins have remained in his various wallets. It would still be about 1,134,000 BTC (out of a total of 21 million)! It is therefore more than 5% of bitcoins that will probably remain dormant forever. The dormant address (without outgoing transaction) the oldest date of February 22, 2009 with an amount of 8,000 bitcoins. Incoming mini-transactions, the latest from November 11, 2022, indicate “dusting attacks”, dusting attacks. The goal is to be able to link these sprinkled wallets to identifiable companies or individuals. If successful, hackers can then use this information against their targets, through elaborate phishing attacks, or even cyberextortion threats.
The number of inactive bitcoin wallets on the rise
The number of wallets with no outgoing transaction has steadily increased over the years. Since the end of 2020, the number of inactive wallets has increased exponentially. This does not necessarily mean that the number of hodlers has increased, but that some wallets are simply no longer accessible: the loss of private keys is the main reason for this. Some may remember this investor ready to search a landfill to find his hard drive containing his treasure. Sometimes it’s just the death of the owner that makes the possibility of recovering the bitcoins disappear forever (or not?), if indeed the heirs haven’t simply thrown away the recovery phrase without knowing what that was.
Bitcoin seized by court
A number of bitcoins were stolen from the Silk Road exchanges in 2012 (50,676 precisely) and 850,000 bitcoins disappeared from the MTGOX platform in 2014. 141,000 of the bitcoins from Mark Karpelès’ exchange are held by the courts Japanese and will be returned to their owners by 2023. As for those of Silk Road, they were recovered in 2021. New movements are therefore to be expected on bitcoin addresses.
It is quite fascinating that some addresses have been holding countless bitcoins for so many years. When you see an outgoing transaction, you can imagine all sorts of stories around these mysterious addresses: had the lucky owner lost his private keys? Did he find his dusty old PC in his parents’ attic? We would like to know more…
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