A crypto consumer who had held bodily Bitcoin for roughly 13 years talked to Cointelegraph about what led to his choice to lastly transfer the cash to a pockets.
On Could 13, a BitcoinTalk consumer going by the pseudonym “John Galt” said they’d moved 100 Bitcoin (BTC) from a bodily Casascius bar to a {hardware} pockets. Casascius bars and cash are bodily representations of various quantities of Bitcoin, with the personal keys to entry them connected to movie on the objects themselves.
Galt stated he had bought the bar in 2012 when the BTC value was underneath $100.
“Again then I believed Casascius cash have been cool and perhaps the long run,” he instructed Cointelegraph. “I figured if Bitcoin ever obtained large these cash could be a part of historical past so I began accumulating.”
Greater than $10 million in bodily Bitcoin
On Could 13, the worth of Bitcoin was roughly $104,000, making Galt’s bar price greater than $10 million. Although he instructed Cointelegraph he had thought-about promoting it earlier than 2025, it was tough to search out legit patrons for such a helpful commodity.
“Redeeming it felt like destroying a chunk of historical past, like melting down some historical gold necklace or one thing,” stated Galt. “I might’ve approach fairly offered it complete with the sticker and all the things nonetheless intact. However the increased the worth went the tougher that obtained.”
Although the funds have been redeemed and extra simply accessible by means of the {hardware} pockets, Galt stated he had no fast plans to money out. Earlier than utilizing the personal keys, he reported preserving the bar in a vault exterior his residence.
“Having 100 BTC is life-changing for anybody. However the factor is I’ve had it for thus lengthy that this was extra about staying protected than instantly getting wealthy.”
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There’s a restricted variety of unredeemed Casascius bars and cash nonetheless in circulation, starting from 0.5 BTC and 1 BTC cash in brass or silver to 100-BTC gold-plated bars. The bodily Bitcoin accommodates a non-public key that may be revealed by unsealing a tamper-evident hologram.
In line with the Casascius tracker Uberbills, there were greater than 17,000 cash and bars that have been energetic and never but redeemed. This included two 1,000-BTC bars price greater than $100 million, one 500-BTC bar price $50 million, and 35 100-BTC bars.
