The wallet, which contained 50 BTC that was mined 15 years ago and originally worth $0.10 per coin, has now become active. Coins valued at $5 million have been moved from the original bitcoin wallet.
Bitcoin scholar Pete Rizzo noticed and shared the transaction via a screenshot taken from mempool.space. This wallet-movement has caused a lot of concern and discussion in the crypto world. Some observers have suggested that the wallet movement could be linked to Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road who was recently pardoned.
It is not possible to attribute old Bitcoin It is unreal to speculate about the movements of any individual that has not voluntarily disclosed their wallet’s address.
"It's fascinating that it's so easy to automatically detect these kinds of transactions, gather some simple context, but still will likely never know the complete story," Reddit user itcashjb made the observation.
This transaction included three key Bitcoin features. SegWit for better scalability; Taproot to improve privacy and provide smart contracts capability; and RBF for fee adjustment.
This transaction was not only a new one, but it opened up the process to the scrutiny of the local community.
"No test transaction? Insane." remarked one user on Reddit, commenting on the holder's apparent confidence in executing a $5 million movement without first sending a smaller amount to verify the address – a common practice for Bitcoin users.
Ancient Bitcoin Supply and Quantum Risks
A Messari cofounder Dan Robustus’ analysis noted that this transaction had a Pay-to Public-Key (p2pk), leading him to speculate that it was a scam. "someone moving quantum-vulnerable funds to safer keys."
Common in Bitcoin's early years, addresses formatted with p2pk are susceptible to quantum attacks using algorithms such as Shor's, which could derive private keys from public data.
In December last year, the debates on quantum computing's possible capacity to break Bitcoin resurfaced after Google announced its Willow chip.
p2pk output. Someone may have moved quantum-vulnerable money to safer keys.
— Dan (@robustus) February 4, 2025
This movement has also led to discussions on how Bitcoins have changed since 2009, when it gained popularity.
During that early period, Bitcoin mining was still possible with regular computer processors, as noted by Reddit user OneSmallStepForLambo: "That is far enough away where the concept of the whitepaper was in practice, 'one-CPU-one-vote'. Each user of the network was also a miner."
The controversy transaction represents one the largest moves of early-mined Bitcoins in recent months. A remarkable return of investment was shown, from just $5 to about $5 million after 15 years.
Community pundits have noted that it would be difficult to convert such Bitcoins into fiat currencies without drawing attention.
The sophisticated implementation of this transaction sets it apart.
The reasons behind such activations often remain mysterious, contributing to Bitcoin's enigmatic early history.
In 2023, Decrypt covered how some Satoshi-era addresses moved millions worth of BTC, with some being tagged as part of what's been touted as the 'Ancient Supply' which refers to Bitcoin mined, moved, or purchased at least over 9 years ago.
Stacy Elliott edited this article.