Two dormant bitcoin wallets linked to physical Casascius coins moved a total of 2,000 BTC, worth approximately $180 million after more than a decade of inactivity.
The coins had remained intact since 2011 and 2012, when bitcoin was trading for less than $15 compared to the current price of just $90,000. The move was confirmed by a blockchain explorer tracking the addresses.
Casascius coins are physical collectibles containing embedded private keys, manufactured by Utah-based entrepreneur Mike Caldwell beginning in 2011. The coins, issued in denominations ranging from 1 to 1,000 BTC, were designed for offline cold storage.
Each coin came with a tamper-proof holographic seal to protect the key underneath. Caldwell stopped producing pre-funded coins in late 2013 after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) labeled it an unregistered money transmitter.
That regulatory pressure effectively killed the Casascius project, leaving around 90,000 coins in circulation, most containing small amounts of BTC. A handful, just six coins and 16 bars, were minted with 1,000 BTC.
It is unclear whether the recent transfers were sales, internal reorganizations or simply precautionary measures to preserve access. Transfers could be related to degrading physical components.
In a similar case earlier this year, a Bitcointalk user claiming to own a 100 BTC Casascius bar reported difficulties importing the key into modern wallets after removing the hologram. He eventually moved the funds, now worth about $9 million, to hardware storage.
