Dormant Bitcoin Wallet Worth Millions Awakens After 12-Year Slumber

A long-dormant Bitcoin wallet has awakened after over 12 years of inactivity. The wallet, beginning with the address '14vMEC', received its first BTC on January 31, 2014, when the price was well under $1,000.

The coins remained untouched for 12.5 years before being moved to a fresh address in block 961845 at 07:03 UTC on August 10. The transfer is estimated to have realized a gain of around $1.73 million, representing a return of 7,975% based on an average cost near $803 per coin.

This significant gain is particular to Bitcoin's early years when the asset was highly illiquid and few holders managed to keep their keys for so long.

The movement of this wallet is not isolated as another dormant whale awoke just last week, with a wallet holding 49.97 BTC since July 16, 2011 moving its funds after 14 years. This trend of old coins stirring has been observed over the past two years, with clusters of wallets dormant since 2013 and even one holder selling over 80,000 BTC in a single month.