After 11 years in hibernation, a bitcoin wallet comes alive with a stash worth around $3 million. The bitcoins at the time of acquisition were worth less than $1, and the astronomical rise in value has resulted in a small fortune for the patient miner.
A Patient Dog Gets The Fattest Bone
On May 17, 2010, a bitcoin miner received 50 BTC and for the next 11 years, left the bitcoin untouched. On October 22, activity was reported on the address as the miner seemed to have cashed in on his reward after a decade while earning a fortune on the side.
In 2010, the entire 50 BTC could have been purchased for under $4 but today, the price of 1 bitcoin goes for over $60,000 which would result in a massive $3 million gain for the miner. This is a staggering gain of over 76,000,000% in just over 11 years if the miner decides to sell off his assets.
At that time, Bitcoin block rewards for miners were fixed at 50 BTC with halvings scheduled for every four years. After undergoing three halvings, the reward per block now stands at 6.25 BTC. Despite the halvings, mining bitcoin has become a lucrative endeavor like never before given the upward price trend of the asset. In fact, it is thought that these halving events are responsible for the increase in bitcoin prices as prices have doubled since the last halving in May 2020.
Other Whales From That Era Exist
Early bitcoin miners before 2011 have garnered a reputation in the ecosystem. Their bitcoins are often referred to as zombie bitcoins because they have stayed put since the day that they were mined. There is speculation that these bitcoins have been lost forever but on the flip side, they might be waiting for the right time to wake up from hibernation.
This belief is hinged on the recent increase in activity from previously unused addresses from that era. According to data from btcparser.com, there have been multiple 2010 miners moving their BTC in recent years. One large whale from that era was found to have moved 6,000 bitcoins and in 2021, saw the movement of 4,250 BTC out of that figure.
