A long-dormant Bitcoin wallet has suddenly come back to life, moving 5,908 BTC — roughly $383 million — after sitting untouched for more than eight years. What happened - Blockchain sleuths at Lookonchain, citing Arkham, identified the wallet labelled “138EM…ReyiT.” At 7:15 p.m. ET Wednesday it transferred its entire balance to a newly created address. The coins remain in the recipient wallet and have not been sent to any known exchange deposit address so far. - The wallet originally received the BTC in December 2017, when Bitcoin was trading near $16,800. At that time the holding was worth about $99.6 million; today it’s roughly $383 million — a paper gain of about $283 million (≈284%). At Bitcoin’s peak above $122,000 in October 2025 the same holding would have been worth about $726 million. Technical and market context - CoinDesk’s onchain analysis noted the move went from a legacy address (starting with “1”) to a SegWit address (starting with “bc1q”), not to an exchange address. Large holders frequently reorganize funds for routine reasons — wallet format upgrades, custody changes, key rotations, estate planning — or to prepare OTC trades that don’t touch public exchanges. - This wake-up follows another dormant reactivation earlier in the week: Arkham reported a wallet that had been inactive since BTC traded near $6,500 moved 2,931 BTC (about $188 million). Why traders care - Although there’s no onchain evidence these coins were sold, market-watchers are alert. CryptoQuant reports exchange inflows remain dominated by whale-sized transfers: its exchange whale ratio is 0.99, meaning the top 10 deposits accounted for nearly all BTC moving into exchanges recently. Historically, elevated readings like this have tended to precede heavier selling pressure, since large deposits are more likely to be followed by sizable sales. Bottom line The reactivation of long-idle wallets keeps drawing attention because large, sudden movements can presage shifts in supply dynamics — but so far there’s no definitive onchain sign that these coins will be liquidated publicly. Traders will be watching for any subsequent transfers to labeled exchange addresses or other activity that suggests a sale.
8-Year-Idle Bitcoin Wallet Moves 5,908 BTC (~$383M) to SegWit — No Exchange Deposit Yet
ChainGPTShare
Summary
BTC news today shows a long-dormant Bitcoin wallet has moved 5,908 BTC (~$383 million) after sitting untouched for over eight years. The wallet, tracked by Lookonchain and Arkham, transferred its full balance to a SegWit address on July 10, 2026, at 7:15 p.m. ET. The coins have not yet been sent to any known exchange. BTC update: The original funds were received in December 2017, when Bitcoin was near $16,800. The transfer from a legacy to SegWit address is typical for wallet upgrades. CoinDesk noted large holders often reorganize funds for such reasons. This follows another reactivation earlier in the week, where a wallet inactive since 2017 moved 2,931 BTC (~$188 million). No onchain evidence shows the coins were sold, but traders are watching for any movement to exchanges.
Source:Show original
Disclaimer: The information on this page may have been obtained from third parties and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of KuCoin. This content is provided for general informational purposes only, without any representation or warranty of any kind, nor shall it be construed as financial or investment advice. KuCoin shall not be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any outcomes resulting from the use of this information.
Investments in digital assets can be risky. Please carefully evaluate the risks of a product and your risk tolerance based on your own financial circumstances. For more information, please refer to our Terms of Use and Risk Disclosure.