$40M Bitcoin Awakens From Dormancy as Most Coins Bypass Exchanges

Six Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for about a decade moved a combined $40 million in BTC this month, but the transfers have not been accompanied by a broader surge in dormant-coin activity, according to Galaxy Research.

Some of Bitcoin’s oldest wallets continue to return to activity after years of sitting untouched. Galaxy data shows that six addresses, last active between 2011 and 2014, transferred a total of 553.59 BTC worth roughly $40 million between Aug. 16 and Aug. 26. One wallet had remained dormant for more than 15 years.

The movement of coins from Bitcoin’s early era often triggers speculation that longtime holders may be preparing to sell.

Yet the wider data points to a much quieter trend. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, said the amount of dormant Bitcoin moving onchain during the second quarter dropped to its lowest point since Q3 2022.

Galaxy considers a Bitcoin coin dormant when it has remained at the same address for at least one year.

The latest decline follows two years of unusually strong activity. Dormant Bitcoin transfers in 2024 and 2025 reached levels seen previously only around the 2017 bull market, when early holders began moving substantial amounts of BTC after its price surged.

Galaxy described that period as a “great distribution” and expects the amount of dormant Bitcoin moving in 2026 to remain below half of last year’s level if the current pace continues.

Bitcoin Movement Does Not Confirm a Sale

A transfer between Bitcoin addresses does not necessarily indicate that the owner sold the coins.

Blockchain data can track the movement of BTC but generally cannot identify the reason behind it. A holder could be moving funds between personal wallets, transferring assets to a custodian, changing their storage setup or selling through a trading platform.

Five of the six decade-old wallets that moved this month sent their BTC to addresses with no known links to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The sixth wallet transferred 40 BTC to Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a German provider of crypto custody and trading services.

Two of the six addresses are also associated with a New York lawsuit involving a pseudonymous plaintiff known as Noah Doe. The case seeks control over Bitcoin stored across 39,069 dormant addresses under the state’s lost-property laws.

The plaintiffs have sent small amounts of BTC to the addresses along with legal notices recorded onchain. They argue that the coins could potentially be classified as abandoned if their owners do not come forward and establish ownership.

One address involved in the case moved 35.55 BTC in June after sitting untouched since March 2011, according to CoinDesk. The transaction was one of the first visible movements from a wallet targeted by the lawsuit.

Coldcard Vulnerability Prompted Separate Transfers

Old Bitcoin wallets also saw a much larger wave of movement following the disclosure of a vulnerability affecting certain Coldcard hardware wallets in late July.

Glassnode data showed that roughly 210,000 BTC held in addresses classified as belonging to long-term holders moved within one week of the disclosure.

The vulnerability increased the risk that attackers could predict certain poorly generated wallet keys. In response, some users transferred their BTC to newly generated wallets or regulated custody providers, even though their own holdings were not necessarily compromised.

Quantum Threat Adds Another Concern

Another potential reason for monitoring old Bitcoin addresses is their exposure to future quantum attacks.

Some older wallets have publicly exposed keys, which could become vulnerable if quantum computers eventually acquire enough power to break the cryptographic mathematics protecting current Bitcoin signatures.

CoinDesk reported in April that around 6.9 million BTC could potentially be affected under such a scenario.

The possibility has encouraged speculation that quantum concerns could be behind the movement of ancient coins. Galaxy’s Thorn has argued that there is little evidence for that assumption.

He said in July that none of the major Bitcoin holders his firm works with had cited quantum computing as a reason for selling. Some institutional investors, he added, have instead mentioned quantum risk as a reason to avoid buying Bitcoin.

For now, the $40 million transfer from six extremely old wallets is notable but does not appear to signal a major distribution event. Broader Galaxy data shows that dormant Bitcoin activity remains relatively low in 2026 compared with the unusually active years of 2024 and 2025.