Two bitcoin wallets «woke up» after 14 years and transferred 20,000 BTC

Two bitcoin addresses that had been inactive for more than 14 years were activated on Thursday night and transferred a total of 20,000 BTC, according to blockchain data.

The last time activity on these accounts was recorded was on April 3, 2011. Then 23,377 BTC were transferred from the address of the bitcoin wallet «1HqXB...gDwcK» to three different addresses. 10,000 BTC were transferred to two of these addresses, and the remaining 3,377.83 BTC were transferred to the third.

Subsequently, for 14 years, two wallets that received 10,000 BTC each remained inactive. The third wallet, which received 3,377.83 BTC, has already spent its funds in 2011.

Since the last activity, the value of 20,000 BTC has increased from $7,800 to about $2.18 billion. The identity of the owners and the reasons for the activation of the wallets remain unknown. It is also unclear whether both addresses belonged to the same person.