Bitcoin Wallets Dormant for Over a Decade Move $40M in One Week

• BTC-USD

Somewhere out there, six people may have just remembered they own Bitcoin, or cracked open an old hard drive, or got their prayers heard and recovered an old key.

It isn’t clear what the case may be, but Galaxy Research has been keeping count: Six Bitcoin wallets dormant since 2011, 2012, and 2014 moved a combined 553.59 BTC between Aug. 16 and Aug. 26, worth a combined $40.15 million.

It’s a rare thing for 2011 through 2014-era holders to keep control of their original coins, which is why on-chain sleuths jump on every one that stirs

The first wallet, which woke up on Aug. 16, held just 8.54 BTC that had sat completely still since June 13, 2011—15.1 years ago—before moving in block 962,770 at 18:42 UTC. The coins cost about $14 apiece to acquire back then, and were worth $538,000 when they finally moved—a 461,981% gain.

There is no sender attribution on the wallet, so whoever it is kept their keys quiet.

Two days later brought the biggest single potential payday of the batch. Galaxy reported 212 BTC moving out of a wallet dormant since Aug. 10, 2012—14.0 years. Those coins are now worth $13.66 million, a potential 557,640% return on a roughly $12 basis if sold.

This wallet came with a label attached: “Noah Doe #1396 · Salomon Client Dusted,” linking it to the New York lawsuit that’s trying to claim tens of thousands of old Bitcoin addresses as abandoned property.

Just hours later, another 2011 wallet joined the party. Galaxy flagged 10.74 BTC, today worth $692,000, leaving a wallet dormant since June 17, 2011. This one again had no label, so the sender and recipient remain unknown for now.

After a four-day pause, two moves from ancient Bitcoin wallets came within about two hours of each other on Aug. 22. Galaxy tracked 150 BTC leaving a wallet dormant since Dec. 26, 2014 worth $11.75 million and tagged “Noah Doe #1680” for a potential 23,701% gain.

Then, just after 3 a.m. UTC, the week’s fifth wallet awoke. Galaxy’s tracking showed 132.31 BTC worth $10.37 million moving out of three separate 2011 addresses in block 963,519. Galaxy broke the gains out address by address: The wallet beginning in “1EG5DvjR” stands to pocket $4.45 million (+629,068%), while “1928FWqd” moved $404,000 (+625,826%), and “1EBzWeno” moved $5.51 million—the steepest potential gain of the three at +807,639%, on a basis of roughly $10 a coin.

🌚 Awakened — dormant 14+ years
40.00 BTC ($3.14M) untouched since first received 2012-05-28 (14.2y ago) — just moved in block 964127

Address: 1MZX6ExdDzWefGbD6Dc4bShdBRoNA3ijLF
Sender Attribution: none in our DB
Recipient Attribution: Boerse Stuttgart Digital

💰 Realized PnL:…

— Galaxy Research (@glxyresearch) August 26, 2026

The sixth and most recent wallet moved just today, and this one didn’t drift into the void like the others. Galaxy flagged 40 BTC leaving a wallet dormant since May 28, 2012—14.2 years—in block 964,127 at 10:54 UTC. No sender tag, but the destination is labeled—Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a German crypto custody bank—and at a roughly $5 cost basis, the gain works out to 1,535,911%, the best return of the six by a mile.

Source: finance.yahoo.com