- Five wallets sent 107 BTC to Bitcoin’s known burn address on May 25.
- The coins had remained dormant for roughly 11 years before the transfers.
- The burn address now holds more than 807 BTC, worth about $60 million.
A long-dormant Bitcoin holder has permanently destroyed 107 BTC, worth about $8.3 million, after sending the coins to one of Bitcoin’s best-known burn addresses. The move took place on May 25 and immediately drew attention across on-chain research circles.
Notably, the coins came from wallets that had stayed inactive for more than a decade. Their sudden movement has raised questions over whether the owner intended to destroy the funds, made a costly error, or carried out another planned action that remains unclear.
Dormant Bitcoin Moves After 11 Years
Blockchain data showed five wallets sending a combined 107 BTC to the address “1111111111111111111114oLvT2.” This address is widely treated as a burn address since no known private key can spend coins sent there.
Once Bitcoin reaches such an address, it becomes effectively unrecoverable. The transfer, therefore, removed those coins from the accessible supply forever.
Source: GalaxyResearch
According to on-chain reports, the wallets had been dormant for about 11 years. When the coins were last active around 2015, Bitcoin traded near $314. At that time, the 107 BTC was worth roughly $33,700.
At recent prices near $75,000 to $78,000, the same coins were valued at more than $8 million. That sharp change gives the burn added weight, as the owner destroyed assets that had gained heavily over the past decade.
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Burn Address Balance Climbs
Galaxy Research data showed the May 25 burn occurred at block 950,962. The transfers came from five sender wallets, with some inputs linked to 2014-vintage coins, 2015–2019 coins, and newer 2026 coins.
The largest sender moved 36.79 BTC, while other wallets sent 28.80 BTC, 20.03 BTC, 20.01 BTC, and 1.42 BTC. Together, the transactions pushed the known burn address above 807 BTC.
That balance is now worth about $60 million at current market prices. The address has accumulated coins over the years through irreversible transfers, including intentional burns, mistakes, and other unexplained activity.
An older post from 2021 also noted that more than one million Bitcoins had become unavailable during 2020, while only a smaller share of the supply stayed actively circulating. The latest burn adds only a tiny amount to lost Bitcoin, but it reinforces the same supply reality: some BTC can never return to market.
Related: TradFi Tightens Grip on Bitcoin as Retail Traders Fade
Theories Follow the Burn
Analysts have not confirmed why the holder burned the coins. One theory centers on user error, since Bitcoin legacy addresses begin with “1,” and the burn address is made mostly of ones. However, the use of five wallets has made a simple mistake harder to explain.
Another theory points to deliberate destruction. The coordinated timing and multiple transactions suggest the sender may have controlled all wallets and knowingly removed the coins from circulation.
Some traders also discussed tax planning, proof-of-burn signaling, or a failed automated transaction process. Others raised the possibility that AI-generated scripts or wallet tools may have mishandled the destination address.
No theory has been verified. What is clear is that 107 BTC left accessible circulation permanently, turning a dormant whale movement into one of Bitcoin’s strangest on-chain events of 2026.
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