Historic Movement of 2,000 BTC from Dormant Casascius Coins After 13 Years

Historic Movement of Casascius Coins

Two bitcoin wallets associated with physical Casascius coins have transferred a total of 2,000 BTC, valued at approximately $180 million, after remaining inactive for over 13 years.

Background on Casascius Coins

Casascius coins, created by Mike Caldwell in 2011, are physical bitcoin collectibles designed as offline cold storage. These coins contain embedded private keys and are protected by a tamper-evident holographic seal. Production ceased in late 2013 due to regulatory pressures from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which classified Caldwell as an unregistered money transmitter. Approximately 90,000 of these coins are in circulation, with a few minted with 1,000 BTC denominations.

Uncertain Motivations Behind Transfers

The recent transfers, confirmed by a blockchain explorer, remain shrouded in mystery. Possible reasons include sales, internal reorganizations, or precautionary measures to safeguard access due to potential degradation of physical components.

Similar Cases Highlight Challenges

Earlier this year, a user from Bitcointalk faced challenges importing a 100 BTC Casascius bar's key into modern wallets after peeling the hologram. This highlights the complexities involved in accessing funds from these collectibles, as the user eventually moved the funds to hardware storage.