In a surprising turn of events, a Bitcoin wallet that lay dormant for over a decade suddenly came to life, transferring its holdings of 687 BTC, valued at almost $44 million, on May 6, according to recent findings by Lookonchain.

The wallet, which had received the 687.33 BTC on January 12, 2014, during a time when Bitcoin's price was $917 and Satoshi Nakamoto was still a notable figure in the crypto space, divided its holdings into two separate addresses. 625.43 BTC were sent to an address beginning with bc1qky, while the remaining 61.9 BTC went to bc1qdc.

Such movements from wallets dating back to the Satoshi era often ignite curiosity within the crypto community, with some speculating about potential links to the elusive Bitcoin creator. However, experts suggest that these wallets likely belong to early miners or investors seeking to capitalize on Bitcoin's recent price surges.

The recent transfer raises concerns about a potential sell-off, especially considering Bitcoin's recent price movements. Although BTC saw gains of almost 4% over the past week, climbing to around $65,500 before experiencing another retracement, the transfer hints at a possible move to offload a significant Bitcoin reserve.

This isn't the first instance of decade-old dormant Bitcoin whales making moves in 2024. Earlier in the year, as Bitcoin's price soared above $70,000, several dormant whales awoke, making significant transfers. One such entity, who had amassed nearly 4,300 BTC at an average price of less than $30 over a decade ago, made their first transfer in over ten years, moving 246 BTC worth close to $17 million in April.

Another whale, who purchased almost 114 BTC valued at $7.85 million, added to their recent spree of buying that had accumulated 1,308 BTC since March 6.

A study conducted by Fortune and Chainalysis revealed that there are approximately 1.75 million Bitcoin wallets that have been inactive for a decade or more, holding a total of 1,798,681 bitcoins, valued at approximately $121 billion. These "lost" coins constitute about 8.5% of Bitcoin's overall supply of 21 million, with 93% of the total supply already mined.

While the fate of many dormant wallets remains uncertain, it is likely that a significant portion of them are permanently lost due to forgotten private keys, especially from the period before 2012 when Bitcoin had little value and proper key management practices were less common.