Another long-time dormant Bitcoin address just woke up—this one after 12 and a half years of inactivity.

The Bitcoin wallet beginning in "14vMEC" first took in BTC on January 31, 2014, when BTC traded well under $1,000. It held for 12.5 years before a single transaction swept the balance to a fresh address in block 961845 at 07:03 UTC on August 10. The move could potentially realize a gain of about $1.73 million, a 7,975% return on an average basis near $803 per coin.

That return profile is specific to Bitcoin's early years, when the asset was a thinly traded experiment rather than a $1.3 trillion market. Few holders kept the keys that long, which is why these awakenings draw attention: they show supply moving that most observers assumed was lost.

Cryptocurrency research firm Galaxy flagged the move in a post on X, but didn't flag a sale. The transfer alone doesn't confirm the coins hit the market. But a sweep to a fresh address often precedes consolidation or a staged move toward a venue where the BTC could be sold or posted as collateral.

A longer pattern?

This isn't an isolated stir. Previously dormant Bitcoin wallets have been reactivating with greater frequency over the last couple years.

Another dormant Bitcoin whale awokejust last week, when a wallet holding 49.97 BTC since July 16, 2011—acquired near $10 a coin—moved the funds after 14 years. That address then sent funds to a FalconX-labeled wallet, per Arkham Intelligence data, raising the same question of whether old supply is being pre-positioned for sale.

Two awakenings in one month fit a longer pattern. Old coins have been stirring repeatedly over the past two years: a cluster of wallets dormant since 2013 moved $2 billion in dormant Bitcoin in a single January session back in 2024, and another whale relocated 3,000 BTC worth over $349 million after a decade of silence, part of a stretch where one holder sold more than 80,000 BTC in a month.