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2024 was an extraordinary year for bitcoin, marked by an event of historical significance: the movement of five block rewards from 2009, which had remained untouched since they were mined.
Last Year’s Genesis Echo
On Sept. 20, 2024, between block heights 862,079 and 862,087, five ancient coinbase rewards, collectively worth 250 BTC, were spent. Bitcoin was exchanging hands at just above $63,000 per coin at the time. These transfers originated from legacy Pay to Public Key Hash (P2PKH) addresses, a relic of bitcoin’s early days. Transactions involving 2009 unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) are rare, even though more UTXOs exist from that year than from subsequent periods of mining.
To illustrate, 90,850.10 BTC in unspent coinbase rewards remain from 2009—a staggering $8.9 billion in untapped value. The 250 BTC spent in September originated from wallets established on Jan. 29, Jan. 30, Jan. 31 (two wallets), and Feb. 2, 2009, during bitcoin’s nascent stage. These transfers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) from 2009 are exceptionally uncommon; the last occurrence involving 2009 UTXOs was on April 7 and 8, 2022.
In 2024, the blockchain witnessed the movement of tens of thousands of so-called ‘sleeping bitcoins’ minted between 2010 and 2017, each with its own unique history. However, the 2009 transfers stood apart.
At the time of writing, the five sets of 49.99 BTC batches from these ancient rewards worth $3.1 million each, remain unspent in newer Segwit address formats. Although 2025 has been less eventful in terms of rediscovering dormant bitcoin, several noteworthy transactions have surfaced this week.
On June 4, 2012, a wallet moved 42 BTC for the first time since its creation. Similarly, on Jan. 5, 102.08 BTC were spent from an address inactive since June 6, 2017. Additionally, 25 BTC shifted from a wallet established on Oct. 27, 2011. The 2009 transactions underscore the enigmatic presence of early bitcoin adopters and the evolving role of dormant wallets within the ecosystem.
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