Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale wallets tied to Silk Road move $324 million after 12 years

Two Satoshi-era Bitcoin wallets that have been inactive for over a decade have suddenly sprung to life, transferring a combined 3,422 BTC, which amounts to roughly $324.2 million at current prices.

On May 6, blockchain analysis firm Spot On Chain reported that one of the wallets tagged “1NWPS” moved 2,343 BTC, valued at around $222.2 million. The funds in this wallet had been untouched for over a decade.

The second wallet, “1PiEK,” transferred 1,079 BTC, roughly $102.5 million. This wallet had been inactive even longer, with its last activity recorded almost 12 years ago.

Meanwhile, independent blockchain analyst Sani of TimechainIndex believes these addresses may trace back to Silk Road, the now-defunct darknet marketplace that heavily relied on Bitcoin in its early days.

He pointed out that a look into the transaction history of these wallets uncovered connections to historic UTXO consolidations, tying them to Silk Road as early as 2012.

Specifically, some recently moved funds originated from a significant 10,000 BTC transaction (TXID: 53952c…) believed to stem from Silk Road-linked holdings. These coins were then split across multiple addresses, including the two recently reactivated wallets.

His analysis also highlighted an earlier consolidation involving 19,940 BTC (TXID: 8b555a…), part of which ended up in a separate wallet later seized by the US government after Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s arrest.

Considering this, Sani concluded:

“The recent movement marks the first activity from these two wallets in over 12 years. The ultimate identity of the entity or individual moving these long-dormant funds remains unknown, though their origins are clearly linked to Silk Road.”

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