Dormant Crypto Wallets Begin Moving Millions in Bitcoin

Bitcoin wallets that had laid dormant for more than a decade are being revived.

Six wallets that were last active between 2011 and 2014 moved around $40 million in the cryptocurrency between Aug. 16 and Aug. 26, CoinDesk reported Sunday (Aug. 30), citing data from Galaxy Research.

One of the wallets had been inactive for 15 years, the report said, adding that these types of moves often trigger concerns that bitcoin’s earliest holders have begun to cash out.

Still, the amount of dormant bitcoin moving on-chain declined during the second quarter to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2022, CoinDesk added, citing Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital. That company considers a coin dormant if it has been held at the same address for at least a year.

According to the report, these slowdowns come in the wake of two unusually busy years. In 2024 and 2025, older bitcoin moved at levels seen only during the 2017 bull market. Galaxy dubbed that period as a “great distribution” and said this year is on track to see less than half as much dormant bitcoin move as in 2025.