Bitcoin Assets from the Satoshi Era Moved: Are Early Stage Miners Selling?

• According to a report shared by CryptoQuant with COINOTAG on Thursday, more than 1,000 bitcoins from an early miner were moved to trading desks and custody services on December 4.
• The term Satoshi era generally refers to the period when Bitcoin’s creator, known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, was active on online forums from the late 2009 to 2011.
• CryptoQuant analysts stated, ‘We estimate that this early miner sold 1,000 bitcoins and sent them to OTC or custody services.’

Bitcoin’s On-chain data revealed that a significant amount of bitcoins earned through mining in the early stages of the network were moved in recent days: Were the bitcoins sold?

Bitcoins from the Satoshi Era are Moving

A substantial amount of bitcoins obtained through mining in the early stages of the network were moved earlier this week, joining the rare examples of bitcoins from the ‘Satoshi era.’ According to a report shared by on-chain data company CryptoQuant with COINOTAG on Thursday, more than 1,000 bitcoins from an early miner were moved to trading desks and custody services on December 4.

These tokens were previously moved 13 years ago, between August and November 2010, and were mined from block rewards at an approximate cost of $100. The address 35BRV3y2tEJNCHbmVtAe3kXNckYgu8X7av received 999.99 bitcoins in a single transaction and shortly after receiving them, sent them to various addresses. The moved bitcoins were eventually consolidated in the address 1CzBL1pEudgqeTtoyPLtrVQHo7nYAZxmKZ, which now holds a balance of 1.028 bitcoins.

These Bitcoin assets have a market value of $40 million at current prices. The term Satoshi era generally refers to the period when Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto was active on online forums from the late 2009 to 2011.

CryptoQuant analysts stated, ‘We estimate that this early miner sold 1,000 bitcoins and sent them to OTC or custody services,’ and added, ‘Due to the transaction patterns of the receiving address, there is a possibility that Bitcoin has been sent to OTC or custody services.’

Satoshi Era Bitcoins in 2023

Several ‘Satoshi era’ bitcoins have become active since the beginning of 2023. In July, a wallet that had been inactive for 11 years transferred assets worth $30 million to other wallets, and in August, another wallet transferred 1,005 BTC to a new address.

These activities come amid renewed hopes for bitcoin adoption, as the price has dramatically increased in a period where expectations are circulating around the potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., pricing in expected interest rate cuts in the U.S. – supporting risky bets like technology stocks and bitcoin – and the potential adoption due to Bitcoin-friendly leaders taking office in major economies.