2,000 Bitcoin Awakens After 13 Years of Dormancy: Legendary Casascius Coins Reactivated

Historical Bitcoin Coins Awaken from Slumber

After more than thirteen years of inactivity, two legendary Casascius coins with a combined value of 2,000 Bitcoin have been reactivated for the first time^[1]. At the current exchange rate, this corresponds to a value of approximately 179 million US dollars, bringing a fortune from Bitcoin's earliest days into the present^[1].

The affected pieces are among the rarest variants in existence: physical units with a nominal value of 1,000 BTC each^[1]. One of these coins was minted in October 2012, when Bitcoin traded at approximately 11 US dollars, while the other was created in late 2011, when the price stood below 4 US dollars^[1]. The investments made at that time have thus multiplied by millions of percent.

What Are Casascius Coins?

Casascius coins are considered cult objects from Bitcoin's early history^[1]. US entrepreneur Mike Caldwell from Utah began minting physical coins and bars in 2011, with actual BTC embedded within them^[1][2]. These physical Bitcoin wallets were produced between 2011 and 2013 and are today among the most sought-after collectibles in the Bitcoin space^[2].

The associated private key is printed on a piece of paper and sealed within the metal using a tamper-evident hologram^[1][2]. When the hologram is destroyed and the key is read, the coins can be transferred to a regular address – exactly what has now happened with the 2,000 BTC in question^[1].

The coins and bars were minted in various denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 100, 500, and 1,000 BTC^[2]. According to records, only 16 bars containing 1,000 BTC each and 6 coins containing 1,000 BTC each were produced^[2].

Production Halted by Regulatory Pressure

Caldwell was forced to cease operations in 2013 after receiving a letter from the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)^[2]. The agency expressed concerns that he may have been operating a money transmission business without the appropriate license^[2].

Market Impact Unclear

The intriguing question from a market perspective is: do such movements indicate immediate selling pressure – or merely a shift to more modern storage solutions?^[1] Reactivation initially only means that the owner removed the hologram and transferred the BTC to another address^[1]. Whether that address is a hardware wallet, a custody service, or an exchange cannot be automatically determined^[1].

Redeeming a Casascius coin for its Bitcoin equivalent does not necessarily mean that a large amount of Bitcoin will flood the market^[2]. In the past, some Casascius owners have publicly stated that they merely "emptied" their old physical coins to transfer the keys to contemporary setups – without intending to sell immediately^[1].

More Treasures Still Slumber

On-chain analysts estimate that tens of thousands of Bitcoin still rest in Casascius coins, distributed across various denominations^[1]. Taken together, this still corresponds to a value of several billion US dollars – preserved in metal, paper, and hologram^[1].

The reactivation of these two legendary coins is primarily a piece of living Bitcoin history^[1]. It demonstrates how far the network has come since 2011 – and that even now, treasures from the early days are emerging that had long seemed lost^[1].