A prehistoric wallet from 2011, the time when Bitcoin was still a scrappy underdog trading for less than a dollar, has suddenly stirred from its 14-year slumber.
A dormant Bitcoin wallet, which dates back to April 3, 2011, holding a jaw-dropping 10,000 BTC, was accessed on July 4, 2025.
Here is the interesting part: as of 2011, Bitcoin was trading at just $0.78. That’s right—less than a dollar, but as of July 2025, those dusty digital coins turned into a staggering $1.09 billion fortune.
The original stash of 10,000 BTC was worth a modest $7,805 at the time. Fast forward 14 years, and that same pile of digital gold is now worth over a billion dollars.
Why would someone suddenly move such a massive fortune after more than a decade of silence? The identity behind these wallets remains a mystery, as well as the motive behind this move. Is this an early Bitcoin miner cashing out or just a whale flexing their muscles?
Historically, moves like this can trigger wild price swings, but so far, the coins have only been shuffled into fresh wallets with modern, lower-fee address formats—no immediate signs of selling.
Analysts advise against hastily drawing negative conclusions, pointing out that these transfers might be due to security concerns, custodial reorganization, or institutional positioning, rather than liquidation.
If a wallet can sleep for 14 years and still wake up to a billion-dollar party, maybe it’s time we all reconsider what “long-term investment” really means.
2011 dormant Bitcoin wallet with 10,000 BTC accessed on July 4 and is now worth $1.09b
