A Bitcoin wallet dormant for nearly 12 years sent 20.00010537 BTC—worth about $1 million at the time—to a large centralized exchange’s deposit address in March, according to blockchain analysis. Three weeks later, the same address received 20.00006037 BTC, a difference of roughly $3. Seven weeks after that, the Bitcoin was deliberately burned.
The sequence of transactions, detailed by researcher Bennet, shows the Bitcoin was split into three transfers of 7 BTC, 7 BTC and 6.00006037 BTC over three consecutive days upon return. Chainalysis, which traced the activity, said five wallets ultimately destroyed 107 BTC in May—worth about $8.5 million at the time—all linked by indicators of common ownership.
The addresses were initially funded in April 2014 with nearly identical dollar-equivalent amounts, and each sent funds to the same exchange deposit address. Chainalysis noted most of the burned Bitcoin can be traced to Mt. Gox, suggesting the owner was an early Bitcoin adopter. Bennet said the coins were likely withdrawn before the exchange’s collapse in February 2014, though direct withdrawal records are unavailable.
A separate wallet linked to the group sent 19.6 BTC in 60 transactions to the same custodian between 2022 and 2024. While the Bitcoin amounts varied, 58 of the transfers were within 10% of $10,400 when converted to dollars, suggesting a planned liquidation strategy. The transactions appeared in clusters rather than a fixed schedule, indicating possible manual execution.
The March round trip—where nearly the full amount was returned—contrasts with typical exchange behavior, where balances are not restored. Bennet said the round numbers and timing align with daily withdrawal limits at major custodians. The returned Bitcoin also went back to the original address, requiring the same private key used to spend it in March before its destruction in May.
Analysts have proposed several explanations, including testing old custody arrangements, tax or compliance maneuvers, or privacy-enhancing moves through custodian omnibus wallets. Others speculate the burn could have been a deliberate statement or a wealth-transfer decision by an individual without heirs. Chainalysis stated it has no clear explanation for the sequence, noting the blockchain can detail what happened but not why.
For now, the motive behind the $1 million round trip and subsequent destruction remains unresolved.
