In brief

  • A Bitcoin whale moved 50 BTC for the first time in 15 years.
  • The coins were acquired when Bitcoin was worth less than $0.10.
  • If sold, the user would notch a gain of more than 93,000,000%.

Do you have the patience to wait 15 years before moving your crypto? One Bitcoin whale did, moving 50 BTC worth nearly $5 million that had previously sat untouched since July 2010.

The address, which starts with “04ba30,” received the 50 newly mined Bitcoin in 2010 when BTC was worth less than $0.10 per coin. 

Now 15 years later, the whale—or a holder with a massive, valuable stash—performed its first transaction, sending out all 50 BTC worth $4.67 million at Bitcoin’s current price of $93,455. The transaction was first flagged on X by Bitcoin journalist and historian, Pete Rizzo.

If sold, the ancient whale would walk away with a gain of more than 93,460,500% based on the original market value of nearly $5 for 50 Bitcoin when the coins were mined.

While the gain seems unfathomable, it's not completely unheard of in the crypto world. From time to time, Bitcoin whales that were around near the inception of the top cryptocurrency return to activity, showcasing jaw-dropping percentage gains in the process.

In November, a Bitcoin holder moved 2,000 Bitcoin to Coinbase after holding a portfolio valued around $120 all the way to $179 million—a 150,000,000% gain.

The ultimate Bitcoin whale, though, remains pseudonymous and yet-to-be identified Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi is thought to hold around 1.1 million Bitcoin, more than 5% of the total supply and worth over $102 billion at current prices.

Image: Imagepocket/Shutterstock

Bitcoin Whale Turned $120 Into $179 Million—All It Took Was HODLing for 14 Years

When people talk of Bitcoin being a store of value asset, they’re talking about examples like this one: A whale on Thursday moved 2,000 Bitcoin—worth $179 million—after not touching the stash for 14 years.  Blockchain data shows that the whale—a crypto investor with huge holdings—received the coins in 2010 when they were worth $0.06 a piece. In total, they held $120 worth of orange coins back then.  The whale moved the “digital gold” to American crypto exchange Coinbase late Thursday after watch...

NewsMarkets
2 min read
Mat Di Salvo

Bitcoin is roughly flat on the day, but has gained 10% in the last week according to CoinGecko. The price remains about 14% below its all-time high of $108,786, set back in January.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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