Bitcoin transfer of $1.2 million to Satoshi Nakamoto ─ Speculation spread due to unknown purpose | CoinDesk JAPAN

• On the 5th of last week, just days after the Bitcoin network celebrated its 15th anniversary, a crypto user transferred $1.2 million in Bitcoin to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s Genesis wallet.
• The transaction has puzzled crypto users and led to speculation that it may be a marketing strategy for a Bitcoin spot ETF or a push to reveal Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity for tax reasons.

Cryptocurrency users are perplexed after an unusually large amount of Bitcoin (BTC) was paid to the blockchain address of anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto on the 5th. There is speculation about the intent of the transaction.

Transfer about 27 BTC immediately after withdrawal from Binance

According to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence, on January 5th, an unidentified crypto wallet lost approximately 27 BTC (equivalent to $1.17 million at the time, approximately 169.65 million yen at an exchange rate of 145 yen to the dollar).・The money was sent to the first Bitcoin address that is said to belong to Mr. Nakamoto. The transfer was made shortly after he withdrew roughly the same amount from major crypto exchange Binance.

According to data from Blockchain.com, the destination address is the wallet of Nakamoto, who created the Bitcoin network’s first “Genesis” block on January 3, 2009, and which still contains the first 50 BTC rewards. . After this payment, the address now holds nearly 100 BTC worth $4.5 million.

What’s notable is that this transaction took place just two days after the 15th anniversary of the Bitcoin network’s launch. Users occasionally send small amounts of money to the long-dormant Genesis wallet to commemorate the launch of the Bitcoin network.

However, the large amount of money transferred on the 5th sparked speculation as to what was behind the transfer.

Speculation spreads over the reason for the remittance

Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Satoshi woke up and bought 27 BTC from Binance and deposited it into his wallet. Either that or someone just burned a million dollars.”

Grogan further speculated that it could be a marketing strategy related to an American Bitcoin spot ETF (exchange traded fund) issuer. Expectations for the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF are at an all-time high.

Jeremy Hogan, a partner at the law firm Hogan & Hogan, said the transaction was an attempt to take advantage of the new U.S. tax system to uncover the identity of Bitcoin’s creators. proposed the theory that it may be. Starting this year, American taxpayers will be required to report all crypto transactions over $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“The only thing that makes sense is that the sender is going after Satoshi,” Hogan wrote in the X post, adding, “Satoshi must either reveal his identity or break the law. ” he said.

The source address had no history prior to the transaction to Nakamoto’s wallet, but has since transferred funds to an address labeled as a hot wallet on securities platform Robinhood, according to Arkham data. It shows that there was an exchange.

Market participants estimate that Nakamoto’s total Bitcoin holdings are 1.1 million BTC, distributed across numerous addresses and worth nearly $50 billion (approximately 7.25 trillion yen). Bitcoin was most recently trading at around $45,000.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Jonathan Borba/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk
｜Original text: Mysterious $1.2M Bitcoin Transaction to Satoshi Nakamoto Sparks Speculations