Two on‑chain data providers have reported a notable increase in activity among long‑dormant Bitcoin addresses during 2026. Checkonchain’s metric for revived supply by acquisition year shows that approximately 227,196 BTC acquired before 2019 were moved back into circulation this year. The majority of that volume, about 81.9%, originated from coins acquired between 2015 and 2018.
Detailed movements from legacy wallets
The monitoring tool Btcparser 1, which tracks a selected set of inactive addresses, recorded 33,932.19 BTC transferred from wallets created between 2010 and 2017. These movements occurred across 873 transactions from January through October 2026, averaging roughly 112 BTC per day but varying widely by month.
Monthly activity peaked in the third quarter. The first quarter saw 8,837.55 BTC moved in 217 transfers, the second quarter 9,824.29 BTC, and the third quarter 13,111.20 BTC across 312 transfers. August was the most active month, with 188 transfers moving 6,427.59 BTC, while September recorded 5,419.45 BTC in (the second‑largest monthly total). October saw 2,159.15 BTC moved in 35 transactions, with the highest average transaction size of the year at 61.69 BTC.
Ancient mining rewards reappear
Several transactions involved addresses created in 2010, the year Bitcoin’s block reward was 50 BTC. On January 10, 40 such addresses moved a total of 2,020 BTC within a two‑minute window, and on September 5, additional 2010 wallets transferred 600 BTC in an 11‑minute span. By the end of October, roughly 2,840 BTC from 2010 wallets and 815.99 BTC from 2011 wallets had been moved.
Recurring transfer patterns
Distinct patterns emerged among newer legacy wallets. Four addresses created on January 23, 2016 each transferred exactly 500 BTC on separate dates, totaling 2,000 BTC. Other groups of wallets showed coordinated behavior, such as nine addresses from January 4, 2014 moving 837.25 BTC across three months, and 61 addresses executing repeated 10 BTC transfers.
Generation‑wise activity
Aggregating the Btcparser data by wallet creation year shows that addresses from 2014 moved the most Bitcoin (8,134.20 BTC), followed closely by 2016 wallets (7,941.98 BTC). The 2013 cohort contributed 5,560.90 BTC, and 2017 addresses moved at least 4,163.11 BTC. Together, the 2014 and 2016 generations accounted for roughly 47 % of the total volume tracked by Btcparser.
Weekend bias
During the first six months of 2026, weekends accounted for 36.7 % of the 526 recorded transfers, despite representing only 29 % of calendar days. Weekend transactions moved 8,269.77 BTC, or 44.3 % of the volume in that period, with Saturdays showing the highest Bitcoin volume and Sundays the highest number of transfers.
Scope of the data
Btcparser monitors a selective set of 64,529 historically inactive addresses, while Checkonchain’s broader metric captures revived supply across the entire network based on acquisition dates. Consequently, the 33,932 BTC identified by Btcparser represent about 14.9 % of the total pre‑2019 revival reported by Checkonchain.
Both datasets indicate that long‑held Bitcoin continues to re‑enter circulation, though the data do not reveal the motivations behind these movements.
