Bitcoin mined for pennies in 2010 moves after 16 years, now worth $8.5 million
Tech
Bitcoin mined for pennies in 2010 moves after 16 years, now worth $8.5 million
The 100 BTC came directly from two mining rewards created during Bitcoin’s “Satoshi era” and had not moved for more than 16 years.
By Shaurya Malwa|Edited by Jamie Crawley
Updated Oct 8, 2026, 7:47 a.m. EDTPublished Oct 8, 2026, 7:30 a.m. EDT
2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this article
Copy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail
Make preferred on
A statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, a presumed pseudonym used by the inventor of Bitcoin, is displayed in Graphisoft Park on September 22, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. The statue's creators, Reka Gergely and Tamas Gilly, used anonymized facial features, as Nakamoto's true identify remains unconfirmed. (Photo by Janos Kummer)
Summary
Show
About 100 bitcoin mined in July 2010 moved Wednesday after more than 16 years, rising in market value from about $6 to roughly $8.5 million.
The coins came directly from two mining rewards and date to the “Satoshi era,” but their age does not establish a connection to Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator.
The transaction sent 10 bitcoin to one address and about 90.02 bitcoin to another, but public records do not show who controls them or whether they will be sold.
About 100 bitcoin BTC$82,384.28 mined when the cryptocurrency traded for pennies moved late Wednesday after sitting untouched for more than 16 years, carrying a value of roughly $8.5 million at current prices.
The 100.02 BTC arrived at an address on July 30, 2010, and remained there until a transaction confirmed at 18:52 UTC Wednesday, according to CoinDesk’s review of Bitcoin transactions. Galaxy Research, the research arm of cryptocurrency financial services firm Galaxy Digital, first flagged the movement on X.
Bitcoin traded around 6 cents when the address received the coins, putting their market value at approximately $6 at the time, according to historical pricing data from StatMuse. That comparison describes their appreciation, rather than what the holder paid or earned from a sale.
Old holdings attract attention because coins long absent from trading can become available to sell again. Some may have been treated as lost because nobody had spent them for years. A successful transfer shows someone still has access to spend them — although the public record does not reveal whether that person is the original owner or intends to cash out.
There is precedent for much larger holdings reaching the market. Galaxy confirmed in July 2025 that it sold more than 80,000 BTC for an early investor as part of an estate-planning strategy. Wednesday’s transfer is far smaller, and its records do not establish a sale.
100 bitcoin mined for pennies in 2010 moves after 16 years. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)Old coins, active address
The alert prompted questions online because the address had spent other bitcoin between 2011 and 2018.
Bitcoin records incoming payments separately, allowing a wallet to spend one payment while leaving another untouched. Those unspent payments are called UTXOs. An address can therefore remain active while some of its coins sit still for years, as happened here.
The address spent 200 BTC across two transactions in August 2015, another 100 BTC in December 2017 and 249 BTC in March 2018. The separate 100.02 BTC payment from July 2010 remained unspent throughout.
“This address has been somewhat active in the past, but these specific coins have not moved since 2010. We track the coins,” Galaxy Research said on X.
CoinDesk traced that payment directly to two mining rewards created in July 2010, one worth 50 BTC and the other 50.02 BTC, including fees. Miners, the computers competing to add transactions to Bitcoin, received 50 newly created coins per block at the time.
The coins date from the “Satoshi era,” when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto was still active. Their age does not establish a connection to Nakamoto.
Wednesday’s transaction combined the old holding with six tiny later deposits and sent 10 BTC to one address and roughly 90.02 BTC to another. Both holdings remained unspent when CoinDesk checked Thursday morning.
Read More: Bitcoin wallets untouched for 10 years moved $40 million worth of coins
Bitcoin News
Related Assets
Bitcoin$82,384.280.32%
Latest Crypto News
1Ether bets were wiped out at six times bitcoin’s rate in crypto’s $1 billion flush1 minute ago
2Bitcoin rebounds to $82,000 as Trump rules out Iran strikes, oil drops38 minutes ago
3Top Democrat among Senate investigators probes ties between Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether6 hours ago
4Wall Street's tokenization boom could have bigger winners than bitcoin and ether, Citrini says8 hours ago
5Crypto crumbles as anniversary of flash crash nears9 hours ago
6NFL joins pushback against prediction markets as U.S. Supreme Court asked to act9 hours ago
7U.S. government moves $1 billion in bitcoin tied to Bitfinex hack, with no sign of sale12 hours ago
8EU securities regulator gives crypto platforms 3 months to remove unauthorized stablecoins12 hours ago
9Crypto for Advisors: Digital assets outran stocks and gold in Q3 12 hours ago
10‘Bunker mode’ is a far greater challenge for institutions than individual crypto holders13 hours ago
Latest Research
The Definitive Stablecoin Landscape Series: Asia Pacific
The Definitive Stablecoin Landscape Series: Asia Pacific
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
By CoinDesk Research
Sep 15, 2026
Commissioned byRipple
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
Why it matters:
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
View Full Report
More From Tech
‘Bunker mode’ is a far greater challenge for institutions than individual crypto holders
Bitcoin and ether holders urged to enter ‘bunker mode’ against possible AI attacks
Samsung integrates USDC to overhaul cross-border remittances for 82 million Galaxy users
More From Bitcoin
Ether bets were wiped out at six times bitcoin’s rate in crypto’s $1 billion flush
Bitcoin rebounds to $82,000 as Trump rules out Iran strikes, oil drops
Top Democrat among Senate investigators probes ties between Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether
