The intriguing movement of Satoshi-era Bitcoin miner coins for the first time in 15 years has captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community, according to on-chain data.
Early Friday, at least five separate Bitcoin block rewards were transferred to new addresses, marking their first movement since being mined in 2009. These rewards, generated in late January 2009—the month the Bitcoin network launched—highlight the historical significance of these transactions.
For instance, one transaction at 02:30 ET on Friday was from the address 0430a, which originally received coins on January 29, 2009. Another significant transaction was from address 04f49, sent at 02:49 on the same day and initially minted coins on January 30, 2009.
These early rewards were embedded in blocks 2247 and 2401. During that period, Bitcoin’s user base was minimal, reflected in the absence of any other transactional activity besides the mining reward.
Satoshi-Era Bitcoin Transactions Spark Speculation
The collective total of these transactions is 250 Bitcoin, approximately valued at $16 million. The synchronous nature of these moves invited speculation over whether a single entity controls all the wallets in question. Despite these transactions, there is no definitive proof connecting them to a sole owner.
Not Linked to Satoshi Nakamoto
Naturally, the coincidence has sparked rumors suggesting the possible return of Bitcoin’s enigmatic creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2024. However, on-chain analysis indicates that the early blocks moved are not linked to the known “Patoshi Pattern,” commonly attributed to Satoshi.
“This could be a reaction to ZachXBT’s thread, where there was a leak involving private keys from a Bitcoin Core wallet,” tweeted the pseudonymous analyst Pledditor on Friday, referencing a $230 million BTC hack involving a Bitcoin Core wallet user.
He speculated that the owner of these coins might be transitioning to a more secure setup in light of the hack.
Minimal Bitcoin Rewards Then and Now
In 2009, Bitcoin miners received 50 BTC per block, which would be worth approximately $3.1 million today. Thanks to a series of quadrennial “halvings,” current miners earn only 3.125 BTC per block, equivalent to about $196,000.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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