600 BTC from 2010 mining rewards move after 16 dormant years

Twelve Bitcoin addresses holding 600 BTC mined in March 2010 moved the coins for the first time in more than 16 years, worth $48 million.

Blockchain tracker Whale Alert traced the funds to 12 block rewards from March 2010, when each block paid a 50 BTC subsidy. "None of the blocks can be connected to Satoshi based on our research," a Whale Alert spokesperson said.

The transfers follow Lookonchain's earlier flagging of seven miner wallets that moved 350 BTC after 16.5 years of inactivity. Whale Alert previously examined seven of the rewards and has now extended its tracing to all 12. One reward moved several blocks before the rest, a sequence Whale Alert read as a test transaction sent ahead of the larger batch.

The open question is where the 600 BTC flow next. Deposits into known exchange addresses would point to possible selling, while moves between private wallets may reflect custody changes or consolidation. The coins are small against Bitcoin's daily trading volume, so a direct sale would not necessarily move the market, but dormant-supply activity can shift sentiment among traders watching for distribution pressure.

The coins date to a stretch when Nakamoto was still active in Bitcoin development and communications, with the last known message attributed to the creator dating to April 2011. That timing has revived speculation, yet Whale Alert's research argues chronology alone does not establish ownership. "Satoshi-era" is not the same as "Satoshi coins," a distinction that matters because narratives about Nakamoto-linked holdings often draw outsized attention even when evidence is absent.

The 50 BTC per-block subsidy has since been cut four times through halvings, most recently in April 2024 when it fell from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. That history helps explain why coins mined in early 2010 were so much larger per block than today's issuance. Bitcoin traded near $79,901 at the time of the transfer, according to KuCoin data.

For traders, the practical signal will be the downstream path of the revived supply. Whether additional wallets tied to other early mining outputs follow this pattern, and how quickly any portion reaches exchange liquidity, will determine whether the awakening amounts to housekeeping or the start of distribution after more than 16 years.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.