A pockets safety improve might be the rationale why a protracted dormant Satoshi-era pockets moved over $8 billion value of bitcoin (BTC) final week, in keeping with on-chain analytics agency Arkham.
On-chain knowledge exhibits eight wallets, every holding 10,000 BTC since 2011, moved their funds to fashionable bc1q-style addresses, a safer and environment friendly format than the older legacy 1–prefix addresses.
The brand new addresses are native SegWit codecs that supply decrease charges, improved transaction effectivity, and stronger safety in opposition to sure sorts of exploits.
Arkham, which flagged the transfers, mentioned there’s no proof the whale is promoting any of the bitcoin. The funds stay untouched within the new wallets, suggesting that the transfer was proactive and sure a part of a broader operational safety measure slightly than a response to market exercise.
In the meantime, Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet flagged on X that sure OP_Return messages despatched to these wallets displayed authorized notices supposed for the homeowners of these wallets.
Days earlier than the transfers, the outdated wallets acquired OP_RETURN messages claiming authorized possession of the cash until the proprietor responded by a set deadline.
Whereas some feared a hack, Guillemet famous the sender by no means proved personal key entry and focused many dormant wallets, not simply these eight. The timing suggests the unique proprietor was probably spooked by the messages and will have acted preemptively to reassert management.
“Up to now, personal keys have been compromised attributable to poor cryptographic practices, equivalent to predictable nonce utilization or low-quality random quantity mills, however that doesn't appear to use right here,” Guillemet mentioned in an X publish.
“Pure coincidence: the timing could also be random. The actual proprietor of the 80,000 BTC noticed the OP_RETURN messages and moved the funds as a precaution,” he added alongside different observations.
OP_RETURN is a Bitcoin operate that lets customers connect brief messages or knowledge to a transaction, with out affecting the switch of precise cash.
Learn extra: $8B BTC Actions Could Have Been Preceded by Covert Bitcoin Money Check
