Is Satoshi Coming Back? Satoshi’s Genesis Wallet gets $1.2 Million, Inscribes Data Onto Bitcoin
Did Satoshi just trasferred $1.2M to his Genesis wallet? | Credit: Janos Kummer/Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- A significant amount of Bitcoin was transferred to Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet.
- Encrypted data inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain.
- Ordinals protocol used for non-traditional Bitcoin usage.
The cryptocurrency community on Twitter was abuzz with excitement after an anonymous Bitcoin holder transferred Bitcoin (BTC), valued at $1.2 million, to the Genesis Wallet.
This particular wallet address on the Bitcoin network is famously associated with Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic and pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
$1.17 Million Transaction Revives Interest in Satoshi’s Wallet
The transaction, which took place on January 5, involved moving 26.9 Bitcoin, worth approximately $1.17 million at the time. Notably, the sender paid $12 in transaction fees for this transfer.
Transferring funds to a wallet address linked to Nakamoto is, generally speaking, irreversible. They have not utilized their Bitcoin holdings since the inception of the cryptocurrency more than 15 years ago.
The Genesis Wallet, which originated with Bitcoin’s network and contained an initial 50 Bitcoin from the very first mined block (the Genesis Block), has remained untouched in terms of spending. As of the latest report, this wallet now holds a total of 99.7 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $4.4 million.
This recent and unusual transaction of sending a large sum to the Satoshi-linked wallet has ignited speculation on social media. One theory comes from crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan, who suggested this transfer might be part of a strategy to reveal Nakamoto’s identity, especially in light of the new cryptocurrency tax regulations affecting American residents.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Return or IRS-Inspired Reveal?
Hogan’s theory presumes that Satoshi Nakamoto is American and, therefore, subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations. However, this assumption may not be true. If Nakamoto is not based in the United States, the IRS would have no jurisdiction over their actions. This adds another layer of complexity to the speculation and highlights the challenges in making definitive assertions about the identity and motivations of the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
Some commentators have speculated that Nakamoto might have reemerged. They suggest Bitcoin’s founder could have bought $1.2 million worth of BTC on Binance before transferring it to their original, historically significant, wallet.
Anonymous Wallet Inscribes Encrypted Data on Bitcoin Blockchain
Be it as it may, the saga isn’t over. Last weekend, an anonymous wallet has conducted a total of 332 transactions. Its holder spent approximately 1.5 BTC, valued around $66,000, to inscribe nearly 9 megabytes of encrypted data onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
The costs of these transactions varied significantly, with the most expensive ones incurring fees amounting to thousands of dollars each. However, the majority of the transactions were closer to $200. Despite the significant financial outlay for these transactions, the content of the data remains a mystery. It is encrypted and has not yet been decrypted for public viewing or analysis.
The account of Ordinals explorer Ord.io on X posted about this significant inscription of encrypted data onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
The inscription of encrypted data was facilitated by the Ordinals protocol, a system that assigns data to individual satoshis, the smallest denomination of Bitcoin. Ordinals are often utilized for storing art directly on the blockchain, but they can also be used for various types of data, including encrypted text.
