Bitcoin whale awakens after 14 years, sitting on $148 million windfall

Long-term Bitcoin investors recently offloaded over $117 million in holdings.

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Add us on Google by Vivian Nguyen Mar. 20, 2026

An early Bitcoin holder controlling 2,100 BTC worth $148 million has resurfaced after 14 years of inactivity and moved a small fraction of the stash, according to data tracked by Lookonchain.

A whale wallet 1NB3ZX, holding 2,100 $BTC($148M), woke up after 13.7 years of inactivity and transferred out 0.00079 $BTC($56).

This whale received 2,100 $BTC on July 5, 2012, when $BTC was just $6.59.

Now sitting on ~$148M in profit — a 10,710x return.… pic.twitter.com/ba6vygF7Kg

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 20, 2026

The wallet, identified as 1NB3ZX, sent about $55 worth of Bitcoin to an unidentified address on Friday.

The transfer marked the first on-chain activity from the address since it received its entire balance in July 2012, when Bitcoin traded at around $6.6, putting the original cost of the holdings at about $14,000.

The unrealized gain is roughly 10,700 times the initial investment, as Bitcoin has risen astronomically to roughly $70,000, turning a five-figure sum into a nine-figure holding.

Small transfers are often used by holders as a preliminary step before moving larger sums, allowing them to confirm wallet access and verify destination details.

Bitcoin “OG” holders have stepped up selling in the wake of a hawkish Fed stance pointing to limited rate cuts this year.

Lookonchain reported that over 1,650 BTC, valued at roughly $117 million, was sold by two early adopters on Wednesday.

A #BitcoinOG with 5K $BTC($356M) sold another 1,000 $BTC($71.57M) 8 hours ago.

This OG received 5K $BTC(cost $1.66M) at $332 12 years ago, and started selling $BTC on Nov 26, 2024, selling a total of 3,500 $BTC($337M) at ~$96,262.

Total profit: $442M — a 266x return.… pic.twitter.com/oErv0KccjN

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 19, 2026

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.