Bitcoin Dormant Wallets Move $40M Amid Legal and Security Shifts
Movement (MOVE)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
bitcoinethereumnews.com reports that six Bitcoin wallets dormant since the early 2010s moved a combined 553.59 BTC, valued at roughly $40 million, between August 16 and August 26. Galaxy Research data shows the oldest wallet in this group had not recorded a transaction in over 15 years, with its first transfer occurring on August 16 involving just 8.54 BTC. These coins were originally acquired for pennies, resulting in gains of hundreds of thousands of percent when they finally moved.
Despite the attention on these specific wallets, Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, notes that overall dormant Bitcoin movement fell to its lowest level since Q3 2022 in the second quarter of 2026. This slowdown contrasts with the "great distribution" seen in 2024 and 2025, with 2026 expected to see less than half the dormant movement of the prior year. Five of the six wallets sent their Bitcoin to addresses with no known exchange links, suggesting repositioning rather than immediate selling.
However, one wallet sent 40 BTC to Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a German crypto custody and trading provider, marking the only transfer tied to a named financial entity. Two of the wallets are linked to a New York lawsuit where plaintiff Noah Doe seeks control of unclaimed Bitcoin under lost-property laws. Additionally, a vulnerability in Coldcard hardware wallets prompted approximately 210,000 BTC to move from long-term holder wallets in a single week following late July. While quantum risk is often cited as a reason for old wallet activity, Thorn states that none of the whales he works with have mentioned this as a factor.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for MOVE, measured when this story was written up on 29 August 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
MOVE is currently trading at $0.008900 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 30.8% and a 4-hour buy ratio of 42.8%, indicating that short-term buying pressure is weaker than the broader 24-hour trend. The 24-hour buy ratio stands at 46.8%, showing that buyers are still active but not yet dominating the session. Volume delta reflects this imbalance, with negative figures of -$7,454 over the last hour, -$15,944 over four hours, and -$82,231 over 24 hours. A negative volume delta means that sell volume has exceeded buy volume during these periods, pushing the net flow downward. The cumulative volume delta for the 24-hour close is -$15,896, confirming that selling pressure has slightly outweighed buying pressure over the full day. Net buying occurred for only 10 out of 24 hours, suggesting a lack of sustained aggressive accumulation.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.1% sits at the 62nd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.1% - ordinary for this coin.
Twenty-four hours later
What MOVE did over the 23 hours after the story broke. The market moves for its own reasons; this is what happened, not what the story caused.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for MOVE, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Compared to the preceding week, the current buy ratio is 4.1 percentage points lower than the 7-day average of 51.0%. Spot volume is also subdued, trading at 0.75x the weekly average, indicating reduced participation relative to recent norms. While the coin saw a +21.9% price change and +$115,031 in total volume delta over the past eight days, today’s metrics show a clear deceleration. This represents an unusual day for the coin, as both volume and buying intensity have dropped below their weekly averages. The shift from a net positive volume delta of +$115,031 over the week to a negative daily delta highlights a cooling of momentum.