Early Bitcoin Moves Slow Significantly in 2025 as 2010 Block Rewards Rarely Budge

With 2025 winding down and just two weeks left on the clock, data from onchain parsers show that only eight block rewards from 2010 have been spent all year—unless a few decide to stir before the curtain falls in December. Officially, it’s shaping up as one of the quietest years on record for 2010 block spends.

2010 Bitcoin Wallets Become Rare Sights Despite 2025’s Six-Figure Prices

On Dec. 2, 2025, a long-dormant artifact from bitcoin’s formative years stirred onchain, as 50 BTC mined in March 2010 moved at block height 926087 between wallets for the first time in more than 15 years.

To date, that transaction stands as the eighth 2010 block reward spent in 2025, while the even scarcer 2009-era blocks remained entirely absent throughout the year. The first 2010 block subsidy to move this year appeared on Feb. 2 and was spent at block height 882004. Another followed on April 24 at block 893719, and by July 31, the pace briefly picked up when a cluster of five 2010 coinbase rewards shifted to new wallets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

The five 2010 coinbase rewards spent in July. Source: btcparser.com. It is worth noting that activity tied to 2010 block rewards in nearly every prior year has exceeded 2025’s count, even as BTC climbed past the $100,000 mark and held six figures for much of the year. A clear case in point was 2024, when thousands of bitcoin were spent from coinbase rewards unearthed in 2010. Coinbase rewards have nothing to do with the digital currency exchange Coinbase; the term also refers to a block subsidy discovered by a miner, and when that reward is left untouched, it is classified as an unspent coinbase reward.

Since September 2024, a total of 2,550 BTC was spent, and after removing the 400 BTC shifted in 2025 from eight block rewards, the figures show that 2,150 bitcoin tied to 43 separate block rewards were spent between September and December 2024. It is also worth noting that those thousand-coin tranches trace back to the mystery whale our newsdesk has followed since 2020, a presence that has yet to surface even once this year.

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So what can be inferred from the data? For starters, it shows that nearly 5 million dormant coins were moved from wallets aged anywhere from six months to more than a decade, according to figures compiled by checkonchain.com. Coins dormant for 10 years or longer posted the lowest activity, a pattern mirrored by the 7- to 10-year cohort. Wallets holding coins idle for more than a decade saw 123,602 coins move in 2025, while the 7- to 10-year bracket logged 155,955 bitcoin shifting hands after comparable periods of inactivity.

It is also worth noting that the nearly 5 million BTC total logged for 2025 includes both routine transfers and coins traced directly to coinbase rewards. Dormant coins dating back to 2011 showed comparatively healthy activity this year and appeared far more often than 2010-era wallets stirring onchain. Just this month, 1,000 bitcoin from an address created on Dec. 21, 2011, moved for the first time since the wallet’s inception.

Source: Bitbo.io. However, the collective of 2011 coins tied directly to miner-issued coinbase rewards was notably smaller. Data from Bitbo.io showed that 45,387 BTC from unspent 2011 coinbase rewards remained as of September 2024, compared with 45,215 today—meaning only around four were spent directly from coinbase rewards.

Taken together, the figures suggest that 2010-era coinbase rewards are becoming increasingly scarce, and while 575,933 BTC from untouched rewards still exist, a portion of those coins are believed to belong to Satoshi and are unlikely to ever move.

While pockets of long-dormant coins continue to resurface, the earliest block rewards—especially those from 2010—are appearing to be just as scarce as 2009 coinbase spends, reinforcing their status as digital artifacts rather than active supply. As newer vintage wallets show more willingness to move, the silence from bitcoin’s first years only grows louder.

FAQ 🧠

• Why are 2010 bitcoin wallets moving so rarely in 2025?

Most 2010-era block rewards remain untouched, with many believed to be lost, held long term, or linked to early miners unlikely to move funds.

• How many 2010 bitcoin block rewards were spent in 2025?

Only a handful of 2010 block rewards were spent this year, making 2025 one of the quietest periods on record for these early coins.

• What are coinbase rewards in bitcoin?

Coinbase rewards refer to block subsidies earned by miners and have no connection to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

• Which dormant bitcoin wallets were most active in 2025?

Wallets created in 2011 showed noticeably more movement than 2010-era addresses, including several large transfers from long-idle holdings.