BTC news: Early bitcoin wallet wakes after 15 years with $3.2 million transfer

BTC news: Early bitcoin wallet wakes after 15 years with $3.2 million transfer

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Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2011 moves $3.2 million toward FalconX-linked address

The 50 BTC remained in the receiving address Friday, but that wallet has previously sent funds to FalconX-labeled deposits, leaving open whether the old stash is being reorganized or moved closer to a trading venue.

By

Shaurya Malwa

Aug 7, 2026, 4:50 a.m.

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Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2011 moves $3.2 million toward FalconX-linked address(Shutterstock)

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A long-dormant bitcoin wallet that received 49.97 BTC in 2011, when the cryptocurrency traded around $10, moved nearly 50 BTC worth about $3.2 million on Thursday.

The coins were sent to a SegWit address that has previously funneled bitcoin to institutional brokerage FalconX and received funds from Nexo and Prime Trust–linked wallets, though the newly moved BTC has not yet left that address.

The transfer comes amid heightened security concerns following a major exploit of Coldcard hardware wallets, which has led long-term holders to reexamine old storage setups, but there is no evidence connecting this 2011 wallet to the flaw.

A bitcoin wallet that had been dormant since 2011 moved nearly 50 BTC worth about $3.2 million on Thursday, shifting the coins to an address

with a history of

sending bitcoin to institutional crypto brokerage FalconX.

The wallet received the coins on July 16, 2011, when bitcoin traded around $10, and had not spent them since, according to

Galaxy Research

. The 49.97 BTC position is now worth roughly $3.2 million after surviving more than a decade of bitcoin booms, crashes and exchange failures.

The transaction

, included in block 961331 at 20:14 UTC on Aug. 6, combined four inputs from the dormant address totaling 49.97 BTC with two smaller inputs from other addresses. Exactly 50 BTC was sent to a SegWit address, while a second output received about 0.00116 BTC after fees.

SegWit is a newer Bitcoin address format that makes transactions more space-efficient and generally cheaper to send. Addresses beginning with bc1 use it.

The destination is not a fresh wallet, however. Arkham data show the address has been active for several years and previously sent 6.336 BTC and 16.131 BTC to addresses the analytics platform labels as FalconX deposits.

It has also received funds from wallets Arkham labels as a Nexo hot wallet and Prime Trust custody.

The newly arrived 50 BTC remained in the address as of Friday morning. That means there is no on-chain evidence that the dormant coins themselves have been sent to FalconX, another exchange or sold.

A 2011 wallet's coins landed in an address that has sold through a prime broker before. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)

Dormant wallets from bitcoin's earliest years tend to draw attention when they move because their owners accumulated coins when the asset was worth a fraction of today's price.

While movement alone gives little indication of what the holder plans to do next, and transfers can reflect anything from wallet upgrades and custody changes to preparations for a sale.

The movements come on the back of one of the worst cold-wallet exploits to hit Bitcoin in years, a reminder that coins can sit safely for more than a decade and still become vulnerable when the software protecting their keys fails.

Coinkite, maker of the Coldcard hardware wallet,

urged users on Tuesday

to move funds after disclosing a flaw in firmware dating to 2021 that could expose keys generated by affected devices. Attackers have

swept as much as $114 million

from vulnerable wallets since July 30, according to the company, in four waves of thefts.

There is no evidence linking the 2011 wallet to the Coldcard issue, and the address predates the device by years. But the disclosure has sent long-term holders back to check old storage setups, adding another reason for dormant bitcoin to suddenly move on-chain.

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