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BTC Bitcoin mined in 2010 re-circulated after more than a decade of silence, triggering speculation that it was associated with Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to on-chain data reviewed by Cointelegraph, a group of addresses holding a total of 600 bitcoins (BTC) worth approximately US$48 million moved the tokens on Saturday after more than 16 years of silence, a move that rekindled speculation that they might belong to Bitcoin's anonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
Blockchain transaction tracking platform Whale Alert said that the 600 BTC came from mining rewards spanning 12 Bitcoin blocks. His research found that these rewards were not associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. A spokesperson for Whale Alert told Cointelegraph: "Based on our research, no block can be linked to Satoshi Nakamoto." The announcement went some way to quell speculation around the origin of these tokens, which were mined during the active period of Bitcoin's anonymous founders.
Whale Alert tracks all 12 mining block rewards
Whale Alert traces all 12 rewards to Bitcoin blocks mined in March 2010, when the subsidy per block was 50 BTC. Since then, block rewards have been halved four times, the most recent one in April 2024, from 6.25 BTC per block to the current 3.125 BTC.
These findings are in addition to Whale Alert's previous analysis. The company posted a post on the X platform on Sunday saying that the seven rewards previously analyzed originated from blocks it determined were not mined by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Mining blocks and addresses of 12 sleeping bitcoin rewards. Source: Whale Alert
On-chain data analysis platform Lookonchain also initially identified seven miner wallets that moved 350 BTC after being idle for 16.5 years, and said the coins were obtained through mining in March 2010.
"Satoshi Era" does not equal "Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin"
The reason why this flow of funds has attracted attention is partly because these tokens were generated during the period when Satoshi Nakamoto was still actively involved in Bitcoin development. Satoshi Nakamoto was involved in the development and exchange of Bitcoin until 2010, and then gradually withdrew from the project. His last known communication dates back to April 2011.
One of the addresses received a mining reward of 50 BTC on March 5, 2010, and these tokens were transferred to the new address on September 5, 2026. Source: Blockchain.com
Whale Alert noted that one of the rewards was moved several blocks earlier than most other rewards, and said this pattern fits the test transaction characteristics before making the remaining transfers.
