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Bitcoin wallets untouched for 10 years moved $40 million. Most avoided exchanges
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- DeepHorus
Six bitcoin wallets that had lain dormant since between 2011 and 2014 collectively moved 553.59 BTC, valued at approximately $40 million, between August 16 and August 26. This activity was tracked by Galaxy Research and marks the movement of coins from the cryptocurrency's early era when Bitcoin traded for only a few dollars per coin.
The recent transfers have prompted discussions about whether early holders, who have seen astronomical gains, are finally cashing out. However, broader data indicates a different trend. According to Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, dormant bitcoin activity actually fell in the second quarter to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2022. This slowdown follows two unusually busy years in 2024 and 2025, which saw activity levels rivaled only by the 2017 bull market.
It is crucial to note that blockchain movement does not automatically equate to a sale. Coins can be transferred for various reasons, such as changing wallets, moving to a custodian, or reorganizing holdings. In this case, five of the six wallets sent their bitcoin to addresses with no known links to cryptocurrency exchanges. The sixth wallet transferred 40 BTC to Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a German crypto custody and trading provider.
The activity has a specific connection to an ongoing legal matter. Two of the moved wallets are labeled in a New York lawsuit where a plaintiff, known as Noah Doe, is attempting to gain control of bitcoin held across 39,069 dormant addresses under the state's lost-property laws. The plaintiff's strategy involved sending tiny amounts of bitcoin and onchain legal notices to those addresses.
This event occurs against a backdrop of other major shifts among long-term holders. In late July, a security flaw in certain Coldcard hardware wallets prompted approximately 210,000 BTC to move from wallets classified by Glassnode as belonging to long-term holders. Furthermore, there is ongoing speculation about future quantum computing risks potentially affecting coins with exposed public keys.
Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn has actively pushed back on quantum risk as a primary motivator for these moves. He stated that none of the large investors, or "whales," his firm works with have cited quantum computing as a reason for selling their holdings. The overall picture suggests a complex landscape where individual wallet movements are part of a broader, and currently quieter, trend in dormant coin activity.
