- ₿69,370 worth over $947 million was moved from one Bitcoin wallet to another on Tuesday after sitting dormant since 2015
- Many theories have been put forward for why it was moved now after all this time
- The wallet had been the subject of repeated attacks by hackers
₿69,370 worth over $947 million, which had sat untouched in a Bitcoin wallet for well over five years, was moved to a new wallet Tuesday, with no one quite knowing the motives or rationale behind it. Until the move, the wallet was the fourth biggest Bitcoin wallet in existence, an award that now goes to the recipient address, and there are several theories about why the coins were moved after all this time.
The Bitcoin Wallet was Hacked
This Bitcoin wallet has represented something of a holy grail for hackers, who have been trying to get at its contents for some time, with the proceeds linked to the Silk Road. In September the address was posted in a hacker forum, which suggested that the efforts were being stepped up.
However, a wallet recovery service told Vice that the Bitcoin wallet very likely had “a password with a length of 15-plus characters using upper/lower case, numbers, special and foreign characters (which) would be impossible to crack using brute force in a lifetime.”
Unless a hacker got very lucky then, it is unlikely that the move was due to a hack.
The Owner is Selling
The theory that the rightful owner has decided to sell some or all of the Bitcoin is plausible, although some have argued that some or all would have been sent straight to one of the bigger exchanges if this were the case.
This is not necessarily true, as a large sale would likely be conducted over the counter (OTC) which can be done from any wallet, but why the owner would bother to move the coins from one private wallet to another just to sell it OTC isn’t clear.
The fact that not one satoshi was sent to an exchange suggests that the mover didn’t have selling on his mind.
The Owner is Moving it for Protection
Perhaps the most likely theory. The wallet owner was probably sick of the entire dark web trying to break into his wallet and so has moved it to another one with a brand new password that is much harder to crack.
The Answer Will Come in Time
We will soon likely know the answer to this intriguing quandary within a few weeks. If the coins haven’t been moved on from the new Bitcoin wallet then we can assume that the rightful owner has just switched wallets for safety and he’s waiting for a higher Bitcoin price before making good on his investment.
