A total of 26.96 BTC of bitcoin that had not moved for more than 12 years has been transferred to a new personal wallet. The long-dormant holding, worth $1.76 million, moved as concerns over bitcoin security have recently grown, drawing market attention. Still, some analysts say the likelihood of an immediate sale is limited because the coins were moved to a new personal wallet rather than an exchange.

According to blockchain outlet U.Today on Aug. 10 local time, the bitcoin had not moved once since January 2014 before being transferred in full to a new address that day.

On-chain tracking showed the transaction was confirmed in block #961845 that day. The previous address was a legacy address starting with the number "1", and the full 26.96 BTC was moved to a nested SegWit (P2SH) address starting with the number "3". No additional transactions were recorded after the transfer to the new wallet.

The transfer drew attention because of the large unrealised gains. The bitcoin is estimated to have been bought in January 2014 at about $803 per BTC. Based on that purchase price, the principal invested in 26.96 BTC was about $22,000, but its value at the time of the transfer was about $1.76 million. That implies an unrealised profit of about $1.73 million and a return of about 7,975 percent.

The cost of the transfer itself was minimal. The network fee was 0.00000176 BTC, or about $0.11 at prices at the time. It cost less than $1 to move bitcoin worth about $1.76 million.

Some see the move as closer to a change in custody method than a straightforward sale. That is because, by address format, it appears to be a transfer from a legacy wallet used in the early bitcoin ecosystem to a more recent format. Nested SegWit has been introduced as a standard that can reduce future transfer fees by 20 to 40 percent through data compression.

The move also coincided with what was described as the biggest security crisis of the summer. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in Coldcard hardware wallets to steal more than $11.6 million in assets, accelerating asset movements among long-term holders. As market fear has grown, some holders have been moving assets urgently, and $80 million flowed into spot exchange-traded funds over the past four trading days.

The transaction is also fueling market questions about why a whale changed wallet standards during a crisis. The previous wallet had been dormant for more than 12 years, but the entire holding moved to a new storage method as security concerns intensified. Still, the likelihood of an immediate sale is seen as limited because the funds moved to a new personal wallet rather than an exchange and there were no further transfers afterward.

Market participants, meanwhile, continue to watch for similar "awakenings" of long-dormant wallets. If such funds move to trading platforms, they could have a localized impact on bitcoin prices. The case showed that movement by long-term whale holders does not necessarily mean selling, but can sharply increase market sensitivity when combined with security issues.