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Two Legendary 1,000 BTC Casascius Coins Break Dormancy After 13 Years
Two long-silent Casascius coins, each loaded with 1,000 Bitcoin, have just been activated — unleashing more than $179 million in BTC that had remained untouched for over 13 years. On-chain data confirms the activation took place on Friday, marking one of the most notable awakenings of early-era Bitcoin collectibles in recent history.
Minted When Bitcoin Was Under $12
The first activated Casascius coin dates back to October 2012, a time when Bitcoin traded at just $11.69.
The second coin is even older, minted in December 2011, when BTC was valued at only $3.88. At today’s prices, that coin represents an astonishing 2.3 million percent theoretical return — excluding the cost of minting.
The Legacy of Casascius Coins
Created between 2011 and 2013 by Utah entrepreneur Mike Caldwell, Casascius coins are physical metal coins and bars embedded with private keys. Each piece stores Bitcoin behind a tamper-resistant hologram, making them both a functional BTC cold storage method and one of the most prized physical Bitcoin collectibles.
Denominations ranged from 1 BTC all the way up to 1,000 BTC in both coin and bar formats. However, Caldwell halted production in 2013 after receiving a letter from FinCEN raising concerns that he might be operating as an unlicensed money transmitter.
How Redemption Works — and Why It Doesn’t Mean a Sell-Off
Only 16 bars and 6 coins containing 1,000 BTC were ever produced, making them exceptionally rare. Redeeming them simply requires peeling the hologram to access the private key — though doing so permanently destroys the coin’s collectible value.
Importantly, activation doesn’t necessarily signal an imminent liquidation. In July, the owner of a 100 BTC Casascius coin, known as John Galt, explained he transferred his funds to a hardware wallet solely for accessibility and safety, not to sell.
“Having 100 BTC is life-changing,” he said. “But this was about staying safe, not suddenly getting rich.”
