Bitcoins mined in 2010 were moved from long-dormant addresses after more than 16 years, sparking renewed speculation about a potential connection to Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to on-chain analytics reviewed by Cointelegraph, on Saturday, coins were moved from 12 addresses that held a total of 600 Bitcoin ($BTC) worth approximately $48 million, after more than 16 years of inactivity.
Whale Alert, a blockchain transaction tracking platform, stated that the 600 $BTC were received as rewards for mining 12 Bitcoin blocks, and its investigation found no link to Nakamoto.
"According to our research, none of the blocks can be linked to Satoshi," a Whale Alert representative told Cointelegraph, tempering speculation about the origin of the coins mined during the period when Bitcoin's creator, known by the pseudonym, was still active.
Whale Alert Traced All 12 Bitcoin Block Rewards
Whale Alert traced all 12 rewards back to Bitcoin blocks mined in March 2010, when the subsidy per block was 50 $BTC. The subsidy size has been halved four times since; the last time was in April 2024, when it dropped from 6.25 $BTC to the current 3.125 $BTC per block.
These findings add to Whale Alert's previous analysis, which covered seven rewards. In a Sunday post on X, the service stated that those seven rewards originated from blocks that, by its definition, were not mined by Nakamoto.
Mining blocks and addresses of the 12 dormant Bitcoin rewards. Source: Whale Alert
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain also initially identified seven miner wallets that transferred 350 $BTC after 16.5 years of dormancy. According to the platform, these wallets received the coins from mining in March 2010.
Satoshi Era Doesn't Mean Bitcoin Belonged to Satoshi
The movement attracted attention partly because the coins date back to the period when Nakamoto was still actively involved in Bitcoin's development.
Nakamoto continued to participate in Bitcoin's development and communications throughout 2010 before gradually stepping away from the project; their last known message dates back to April 2011.
One of the 12 addresses received a 50 $BTC mining reward on March 5, 2010, and transferred the coins to a new address on September 5, 2026. Source: Blockchain.com
Whale Alert noted that one of the rewards was transferred several blocks earlier than most of the others, stating that this sequence fit with a test transaction prior to the remaining transfers.
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