FameEX Hot Topics | 1.71 Million BTC from 2009-2012 Block Rewards Remain Dormant, Valued Over $100 Billion

Recently, five block rewards from 2009 were moved for the first time in nearly two years, an event that reignites interest in the so-called 'sleeping' Bitcoins from Bitcoin’s early days. Since 2015, only 48 block rewards from Bitcoin’s creation year have been spent, making it a good time to assess how many of these early block rewards remain untouched.

Over 1 Million Bitcoins From 2009 Remain Unspent, Plus Another 700,000 From 2010-2012 Block Rewards. Despite some dormant Bitcoin (BTC) wallets becoming active occasionally, a significant portion of Bitcoin's coinbase rewards (the block rewards given to miners) remains untouched. After the 2009 blocks were spent on September 20, 2024, bitbo.io data shows that 1,074,352 BTC from 2009 coinbase rewards are still unspent. Timechainindex.com offers a slightly higher figure, indicating 1,074,402 BTC from unspent coinbase rewards originating in 2009. These unspent bitcoins are distributed across 21,488 addresses, according to timechainindex.com.

1.71 Million BTC From 2009-2012 Block Rewards Still Dormant, Valued Over $100 Billion. Many of these unspent coins were mined by Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, but not all can be attributed to him. For example, bitbo.io reports that 578,483 BTC from 2010 remains untouched, currently valued at $36.5 billion. Timechainindex.com provides a nearly identical figure, with 578,740 BTC from 2010 coinbase rewards still unspent, spread across 11,598 inactive wallets. These unspent 2010 coins represent 2.92% of Bitcoin's total supply. On September 22, 2024, one of these old wallets, created on July 14, 2010, became active, spending a coinbase reward containing 50 BTC.

Moving to 2011, bitbo.io indicates there are 45,387 unspent BTC from that year’s block rewards, while timechainindex.com lists 47,843 unspent BTC. These coins are spread across 3,089 addresses, making up approximately 0.24% of Bitcoin's total supply. For 2012, bitbo.io records 11,113 BTC left unspent, whereas timechainindex.com shows 11,514 BTC spread across 1,928 wallets.

It's increasingly rare to witness Bitcoin from 2009 through 2012 becoming active, as wallets from this era tend to stay dormant. Conversely, wallets created between 2013 and 2017 show activity more frequently, with blockchain parsers detecting their movements often. In total, about 1.71 million BTC from the 2009-2012 period remains unspent, equating to roughly $108.2 billion. This dormant stash constitutes around 8.73% of Bitcoin’s total market cap, which currently stands at $1.24 trillion.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this section is for informational purposes only, doesn't represent any investment advice or FameEX's official view.