On December 6th, two Casascius coins, each containing 1,000 BTC, were activated after being dormant for over 13 years. The value of the unlocked cryptocurrency was approximately $180 million.
🚨🚨🚨 Two Casascius coins, each containing 1,000 BTC, have just moved after being dormant for more than 13 years. pic.twitter.com/nlFUy39MkD
— Sani | TimechainIndex.com (@SaniExp) December 5, 2025
In 2011, American entrepreneur Mike Caldwell began minting physical coins and bars under the name Casascius, with denominations of 1, 10, 25, 100, and 1000 BTC. Each item contained a private key on paper, protected by a holographic sticker.
In November 2013, FinCEN prohibited Caldwell from selling pre-funded instruments.
According to some reports, six coins and 16 bars were made with 1000 BTC each.
One of the activated Casascius Coins was created in October 2012, when Bitcoin was trading at $11.69. The second was minted in December 2011, at a rate of just $3.88.
The movement of cryptocurrency locked in these items does not necessarily indicate an immediate sale. Commentators suggested that the activation might be due to concerns over the condition of the hologram and the paper key after prolonged storage.
In May, a BitcoinTalk user with the nickname John Galt cashed out a Casascius bar containing 100 BTC. He had purchased the collectible item in 2012 for about $500.
According to him, there were no issues with the sticker, but there were difficulties activating the mini-key contained beneath it on some wallets.
John Galt admitted that he had previously tried to sell the bar whole, but as Bitcoin reached $10,000, it became too complicated due to trust issues. He assured that he now does not intend to sell the cryptocurrency, which he has transferred to hardware storage. The current value of the assets is around $9 million.
In December 2019, an unknown individual activated a similar Casascius bar with 100 BTC, then valued at approximately $750,000.
Earlier in December, a Bitcoin miner from the Satoshi era moved 50 BTC for the first time, which were received as a block reward in March 2010.