$1.19 Million Bitcoin Sent to Satoshi’s Original Wallet, Sparks Discussion

A mysterious transaction took place recently, involving the transfer of 26.917 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.19 million, to the Genesis wallet associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. This happened just after Bitcoin celebrated its 15th anniversary.

The Genesis wallet, known as “1A1zP,” has been historically dormant except for minor dust transactions. The origins of this large transfer, confirmed at block height 824,513, trace back to the “bc1q9” address. The Genesis wallet’s total holdings now stand at 99.676 BTC, equating to about $4.35 million.

Understanding the significance of this wallet requires a delve into Bitcoin’s history. The Genesis wallet is integral to the Bitcoin blockchain, holding the first block, known as the genesis block. This block’s 50 BTC reward is unique because it’s frozen, not included in the unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs). This is due to the original coding structure, not a deliberate decision. In the Bitcoin network, to spend Bitcoin, a transaction must reference specific UTXOs as inputs. Because the genesis block’s reward isn’t part of the UTXO set, it remains unspendable.

Over the past 15 years, the Genesis wallet has received numerous small amounts of Bitcoin. However, the latest transfer of 26.917 BTC is unprecedented in its size. The motive behind sending such a large sum to a wallet where it becomes non-spendable remains a mystery. It’s unclear if this act was meant to influence market sentiment or if it was simply a high-profile gesture to garner attention, especially as the Bitcoin community awaits the outcome of a spot Bitcoin ETF decision.

Despite the unspendable nature of the bitcoins in the Genesis wallet, this recent transaction has sparked discussions and speculations within the cryptocurrency community. The sender’s identity and intentions remain unknown, adding to the intrigue surrounding this event.

Widely followed attorney Jeremy Hogan, perhaps best known for his close coverage of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, weight in on  what he believed could be happening on X His explanation is that the sender could have been trying to “flush Satoshi out”, in light of new IRS rules that dictate any receipt of above $10,000 have to be reported. Nevertheless this begs the question, then why send this massive amount and not just something slightly above the reporting treshold, as the discussion continued.