Dormant 2013 Bitcoin Wallet Moves 500 BTC as Coldcard Hack Spreads

A long-inactive bitcoin wallet from 2013 sprang back to life on Monday, moving 500 BTC—about $31.3 million—on-chain as the Coldcard hardware wallet breach continues to unfold. The address, labeled 18TExP, transferred the full balance after roughly 12 years of inactivity, according to a transaction flagged by Whale Alert. When the coins last moved around 12.7 years ago, they were worth about $500,000. A transfer between wallets does not by itself signal a sale, but it does indicate that whoever controls a decade-old private key decided to relocate funds. Market observers have focused on the timing: the move came amid growing concerns tied to the Coldcard hack, a security incident that has hit wallets generated by the Bitcoin-only device. Blockchain analyst Lookonchain said on X that the owner may have shifted the funds to a new wallet out of caution following the Coldcard breach. Since July 30, attackers have drained thousands of BTC from Coldcard-generated wallets by exploiting a vulnerability traced back to March 2021. Galaxy researchers estimate losses at roughly $130 million in BTC so far. The incident has also coincided with broader movement of older coins. CryptoQuant data based on spent output age bands—a metric that groups bitcoin moved each day by how long it sat dormant—shows a noticeable surge in aged coin activity. Coins dormant for 10 years or more saw about 935 BTC move on Aug. 3, the largest single-day total since March 20. Separately, coins dormant for five to seven years spiked more sharply, with roughly 6,388 BTC moving on July 31. Older coins can move for many reasons, including estate transfers, exchange wallet reshuffles, or routine custodial migrations. Still, the clustering of large, long-dormant transfers in the days immediately after the Coldcard incident is reinforcing the view that some holders are proactively relocating funds for security.