Four Decade-Old Bitcoin Wallets Move $161 Million in Two Weeks, Most Tagged to New York Lawsuit

Four Bitcoin wallets that had sat untouched for a decade or more sprang back to life between September 6 and September 22, moving a combined 1,971.03 BTC — worth about $161 million — according to blockchain monitoring by Galaxy Research, reported by Decrypt.

The largest transfer involved 1,260.78 BTC ($100.63 million) that had not moved since July 2016. On a cost basis Galaxy pegs near $652 per coin, that stash represents a paper gain of roughly 12,122%. The oldest coins were smaller but showed far steeper percentage returns: a wallet dormant since March 2011 holding 10.25 BTC ($792,000) was up more than 8.38 million percent from an average cost around $1, and 100 BTC untouched since November 2011 (~$8.09 million) gained roughly 2.49 million percent, per Galaxy's figures.

The most recent movement came early Tuesday, September 22, when a wallet holding 600 BTC (~$51.9 million), dormant since July 2012, moved coins after a 14.2-year gap. Decrypt reports the recipient of that transfer was not identified on-chain.

Three of the four wallets carried a "Noah Doe" sender tag — a reference to a New York lawsuit seeking to have thousands of dormant Bitcoin addresses declared abandoned property. Wallets named in that case have been stirring regularly since a judge paused the proceedings in June, per Decrypt. The activity extends a 2026 pattern: Decrypt notes an earlier wave in which six wallets moved roughly $40 million over a single 10-day stretch.

Key facts

• 1,971.03 BTC (~$161M) moved across four wallets, Sept. 6–22 — Galaxy Research, via Decrypt.
• Largest: 1,260.78 BTC (~$100.63M), dormant since July 2016, ~12,122% paper gain (cost basis ~$652) — Galaxy Research.
• 10.25 BTC dormant since March 2011 ($792K), up >8.38M%; 100 BTC since Nov. 2011 ($8.09M), up ~2.49M% — Galaxy Research.
• Most recent: 600 BTC (~$51.9M), dormant since July 2012, moved early Tuesday Sept. 22; recipient unidentified on-chain — Decrypt.
• Three of four wallets tagged "Noah Doe," tied to a New York abandoned-property suit paused by a judge in June — Decrypt.

The real-world read

A transfer is not a sale. Moving coins can mean consolidation, a custody change, or an owner reacting to litigation — not necessarily selling into the market, and Decrypt says as much. The eye-popping "8.38 million percent" gains are arithmetic against a near-zero cost basis, not realized profit, and are unrealized unless the holder sells.

The "Noah Doe" tags matter more than the returns. Three of four wallets are linked to a case seeking to declare dormant addresses abandoned property, and named wallets have moved repeatedly since the June pause — which suggests these awakenings may be driven by the legal fight over the coins rather than by holders timing the market. Who actually controls the keys, and who received the 600 BTC, remains unknown on-chain.

Opinion, and whose

Galaxy Research frames the pace of decade-old coins reactivating as "rarely seen." Decrypt argues each awakening draws scrutiny as a "potential signal of long-lost supply returning to circulation" — a characterization, not a confirmed fact, since no sale has been observed.

Sources

• Decrypt (secondary reporting) — the $161M/1,971.03 BTC total, per-wallet figures, dates, cost bases, the "Noah Doe" lawsuit tags, and the note that the 600 BTC recipient was unidentified. Decrypt attributes the on-chain data to Galaxy Research.
• Galaxy Research (primary blockchain monitoring, cited by Decrypt) — the wallet movements, cost-basis estimates, and percentage-gain figures.

This is news reporting, not financial advice.