Satoshi, Is That You? Bitcoin Wallets Move BTC Worth $2 Billion After 14-Year Dormancy

Two dormant Bitcoin whale addresses dating back to the era when Satoshi Nakamoto was still active have been woken up after 14 years. The Bitcoin wallets collectively transferred 20,000 BTC, worth roughly $2 billion, on Friday, creating buzz on social media, with speculation that it was Satoshi’s wallet. 

The recent movement of Bitcoin whale addresses containing Bitcoin from the 2011 era comes just days after the price of the asset briefly rebounded above $110,000 for the first time since June 11.

Satoshi-Era BTC Awakens

On April 3, 2011, a Bitcoin wallet starting with “1HqXB” moved 23,377.83 BTC to three different addresses. Two of these wallets each received 10,000 BTC, while the third received the remaining 3,377.83 BTC, according to data tracked by Blockchain.com. 

The two wallets that received 10,000 BTC each, “1GcCK” and “bc1qm”, have remained dormant for 14 years until early Friday, when they transferred their respective BTC stashes to new addresses within 30 minutes of each other. The third wallet, which received 3,377.83 BTC, had already spent its funds back in 2011.

The term “Satoshi era” refers to the early days after Bitcoin was created, when its enigmatic inventor, Nakamoto, was active online in forums. Some Satoshi-era wallets are often speculated to be linked to Satoshi himself. Others on X suggested it could be Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht moving his coins now that he is free after being pardoned by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

At the time of the transfers in 2011, the premier crypto was priced at around 78 cents. The two wallets with 10K BTC slept through the Bitcoin bull run and the all-time high of over $111,800 in May 2025. This means that the 20,000 BTC has appreciated by nearly 14,000,000% in value within the 14 years of inactivity, soaring from a mere $7,800 to a staggering $2.18 billion.

Whether the wallets belong to the same individual or entity is not confirmed, though the wallet history and transaction patterns suggest that it could be the case.

Moreover, the exact reason for the transfer is also unknown at publication time. Nonetheless, the latest transfers were made to non-exchange addresses, which have not moved the coins since — signaling no immediate intention to take profits after over a decade of patiently HODLing.