Mysterious wallet sends $1 without revealing its owner
An anonymous individual made a transaction on January 5th, depositing 26.9 BTC, worth around $1.19 million, into the Genesis wallet. This wallet, created by the mysterious figure known as Satoshi Nakamoto, is the first-ever wallet on the Bitcoin network. The transaction took place at 1:52 AM ET, just two days after Bitcoin’s 15th anniversary, and is notable because it cannot be retrieved.
According to Arkham Intelligence, an on-chain analytics platform, the owner of the mysterious wallet funded it through complex transactions involving various addresses. Arkham Intelligence also discovered that most of the funds can be traced back to a wallet believed to be owned by Binance.
Before transferring the funds to the Satoshi Nakamoto wallet, the sender withdrew nearly 27 BTC from the Binance exchange. The wallet’s activity log only recorded these two transactions. Some speculate that the individual behind the transfer to Nakamoto’s wallet may be known to the Binance compliance team, as crypto exchanges like Binance are required to have strict KYC procedures.
Coinbase director Conor Grogan humorously commented on the news, saying, “Either Satoshi woke up, bought 27 Bitcoins from Binance, and deposited them into their wallet, or someone just burned a million dollars.”
The Genesis wallet, created by Satoshi Nakamoto, has mostly received small transactions since its creation on January 3, 2009. While it is theoretically possible for Nakamoto to still possess the private keys to these wallets and transfer the funds, it is highly unlikely. Funds from Nakamoto-associated wallets, including the Genesis block’s funds, have not moved since Nakamoto’s disappearance in December 2010.
Initially, the Genesis wallet had 50 BTC when Nakamoto vanished. Over the years, the wallet has received more funds, reaching 72 BTC by the end of 2023. This latest transaction has increased the wallet’s balance to approximately 99.68 BTC, which is equivalent to around $4.3 million at current rates.
The unexpected transaction has sparked various theories among crypto enthusiasts. Some see it as a tribute to the creator of Bitcoin, considering its timing after Bitcoin’s 15th anniversary. Others speculate that it may be a costly mistake or a publicity stunt. Some even view it as an attempt to create excitement ahead of the expected approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
