The movement of two legendary "physical Bitcoins" holding a combined value of over $120 million has attracted some attention on social media.
Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès has revealed that he once handed out similar, albeit smaller, fortune-holding coins as casual employee bonuses.
Casascius coins, explained
On Sunday, on-chain sleuths flagged a massive transaction: two 1,000 BTC Casascius coins had moved on the blockchain after sitting dormant for more than 13 years.
These funds originated from "physical bitcoins." These are tangible gold-plated bars or coins created in the early days of crypto that contain a private key hidden underneath a holographic sticker.
To spend the funds, the owner must physically peel off the tamper-evident hologram to reveal the key.
Created by Mike Caldwell between 2011 and 2013, Casascius coins were an attempt to make Bitcoin tangible for face-to-face trading. They are solid brass, gold-plated, or silver rounds and bars.
Each coin features a "private key" on a card embedded inside the coin, covered by a tamper-resistant hologram.
Caldwell stopped minting them in November 2013 after FinCEN notified him that selling pre-funded coins qualified as money transmission.
The employee perk
Karpelès confirmed that while he didn't hold the massive 1,000 BTC "gold bars." He possessed a significant number of the smaller denominations during Mt. Gox's peak.
"I had a bunch of 25 BTC and 1 BTC, yea. Gave these to employees as bonus," Karpelès wrote.
When Casascius coins were minted (2011–2013), a 25 BTC coin would have been worth anywhere from $100 to $25,000.
Today, a single 25 BTC coin is worth approximately $1.5 million, not counting the massive numismatic premium collectors pay for an unpeeled, pristine physical coin.
It remains unknown how many former Mt. Gox staff members kept their physical coins unpeeled.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin