A Bitcoin address that had sat untouched for 12 years suddenly moved its entire 500 BTC stash — worth roughly $31.8 million — on Monday. The transaction cost just 191 satoshis, or about 12 cents. The move comes as the crypto community grapples with a widening security incident involving Coldcard hardware wallets, which Galaxy Research now says has cost victims at least $130 million.
The dormant address
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain flagged the address on X. The wallet had received the 500 BTC back in 2014, when the price was a fraction of today's. For over a decade, the coins never budged — the kind of long-term dormancy often associated with lost keys or forgotten holdings.
But this wasn't a lost wallet. Someone still had the keys, and they chose to move the whole balance this week. Some Bitcoiners speculated the owner was spooked by the Coldcard vulnerability and shifted funds to a safer setup. The timing certainly lines up.
Coldcard hack keeps getting worse
The Coldcard incident started with what looked like a $35 million theft. Galaxy Research has since revised that number upward, saying it's now investigating a fourth wave of attacks tied to the same vulnerability. Coinkite, the company behind Coldcard, said Sunday that all Coldcard models are vulnerable to the ongoing attacks.
That's a big deal for a brand that markets itself as one of the most secure hardware wallets on the market. The company hasn't released a full patch yet, and the attack surface appears to be broader than initially thought.
What users are being told
Bitcoiners have been urging anyone with a Coldcard to move their coins to a new security setup — immediately. The advice isn't coming from Coinkite alone; it's the consensus across crypto security circles on X and Telegram.
For the whale who just moved 500 BTC, the decision might have been precautionary. Or maybe they just decided 12 years was long enough. Either way, the transaction is a reminder that long-dormant Bitcoin can wake up at any time — and when it does, markets sometimes take notice.
Galaxy Research says it's still digging into the fourth wave. Coinkite hasn't announced a timeline for a fix. For now, the message is simple: if you're still using an older Coldcard, don't wait.
