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A dormant 2010 bitcoin stash worth $8.5 million moves after 16 years

About 100 bitcoin mined in July 2010 and untouched for over 16 years moved on October 7, 2026, split into transfers of 10 and roughly 90 BTC worth about $8.5 million.

October 8, 2026·3 min readSourced · no paid placements

Roughly 100 bitcoin that last sat still in July 2010 — when the coin traded for about six cents — moved late Wednesday, October 7, carrying a market value near $8.5 million at current prices. Galaxy Research, the research arm of Galaxy Digital, flagged the movement on X; CoinDesk reported the details after reviewing the on-chain record.

The specifics: 100.02 BTC arrived at an address on July 30, 2010, and did not move until a transaction confirmed at 18:52 UTC on Wednesday, per CoinDesk's review. The transaction combined the old holding with six tiny later deposits and split the output — 10 BTC to one address, about 90.02 BTC to another. Both remained unspent when CoinDesk checked Thursday morning. CoinDesk traced the 2010 payment to two mining rewards, one of 50 BTC and one of 50.02 BTC including fees; block rewards were 50 new coins at the time.

The coins date to the "Satoshi era," but — as both Galaxy and CoinDesk stressed — age alone establishes no link to Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator. Nor does the public record show who controls the addresses or whether a sale is coming.

One wrinkle worth noting: the receiving address was not a true cold wallet. It spent 200 BTC across two transactions in August 2015, 100 BTC in December 2017 and 249 BTC in March 2018 — while this particular 100.02 BTC payment sat untouched. That is possible because Bitcoin tracks each incoming payment separately as a UTXO, so a wallet can spend some coins and leave others frozen for years. "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.

Key facts

  • 100.02 BTC, received July 30, 2010, moved at 18:52 UTC Oct. 7, 2026 — split into 10 BTC and ~90.02 BTC (CoinDesk on-chain review; Galaxy Research on X).
  • Value then: ~$6 at a ~6-cent price (StatMuse historical data, via CoinDesk). Value now: ~$8.5 million (CoinDesk).
  • Coins traced to two July 2010 mining rewards, 50 BTC and 50.02 BTC incl. fees (CoinDesk).
  • Same address previously spent 200 BTC (Aug. 2015), 100 BTC (Dec. 2017) and 249 BTC (March 2018) (CoinDesk).

The real-world read

The "$6 to $8.5 million" framing describes price appreciation, not anyone's profit — CoinDesk says so directly, since the record shows neither what the holder paid nor any sale. A transfer is not a sell; the coins have only moved between addresses, both still unspent. Treat the "Satoshi era" tag as chronology, not provenance — there is no evidence tying this to Nakamoto, and both the flagger and the reporter say as much. This rests on a single secondary outlet reading public blockchain data that Galaxy surfaced; the identity and intent of whoever holds the keys are simply unknown.

Not financial advice.

Sources

  • CoinDesk (Tier 2, secondary) — transaction timing, the 10/90.02 BTC split, tracing to two 2010 mining rewards, the address's prior 2015–2018 spends, and ~$8.5M valuation; cited StatMuse for the historical ~6-cent price.
  • Galaxy Research (Galaxy Digital), via X — first flagged the movement and the quoted statement. Galaxy is a commercial crypto firm; this was a public research post, not sponsored placement.