Satoshi’s wallet receives $1 million in Bitcoin as ETF approval nears

The Bitcoin wallet belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the alpha cryptocurrency, reportedly received over $1 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC).

Coinbase director Conor Grogan first noted the activity, where nearly 27 BTC was deposited into the wallet. Speculation from the crypto community on X (formerly Twitter) soon followed, with Grogan stating in replies that the activity could be related to marketing efforts around the imminent Bitcoin ETF.

Either Satoshi woke up, bought 27 bitcoin from Binance, and deposited into their wallet, or someone just burned a million dollars pic.twitter.com/w34kjnAHPJ

— Conor (@jconorgrogan) January 6, 2024

The wallet in question is also known as the “Genesis” Bitcoin wallet, which minted the first 50 bitcoins into existence. The wallet is regarded as Satoshi’s personal wallet, although such a label can be misleading, given the anonymous status of Bitcoin’s creator(s).

Notably, this address has been dormant since 2011, the same year that Satoshi Nakamoto last provided any public communication about the Bitcoin project.

“I’ve moved on to other things,” Nakamoto said in a final email to Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn on April 23, 2011.

However, as on-chain tracking from Arkham Intelligence indicates, the wallet just received a significant amount, one that’s unusual for its transaction value. The wallet now has nearly 100 BTC, worth roughly $4.3 million, a total that includes the original 50 BTC mined for the Genesis Block, small dust amounts received, and the recent transfer which sparked speculation.

The sudden activity has fueled conjectures around the true identity of Nakamoto, bitcoin’s secretive creator(s) who published the cryptocurrency’s white paper in late 2008. If still alive, Nakamoto ostensibly has control over 1 million BTC, representing roughly 5% of the maximum supply of 21 million BTC.

There is some credence to Grogan’s claim regarding this unusual transaction. Immense anticipation around the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETF applications has forked into varying analyses of its impact on Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem. There are currently 14 applications for the exchange-traded fund.

BitMex Arthur Hayes predicts that there will be a sharp correction following the approval, while ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood expects a ‘sell the news’ effect that would come into action once the SEC finalizes its decision to approve a Bitcoin ETF by January 10th.

According to market capitalization data, Bitcoin is currently the 10th largest asset in the world, with a market cap of over $919 billion based on its current price level of $46,900.