
A crypto user who has held physical Bitcoin for about 13 years talked to Cointelegraph to understand his decision to eventually transfer the coins to his wallet.
On May 13, BitCointalk users were named “John Galt” explain They moved 100 bitcoins (BTC) From physical Cascius bar to hardware wallet. Casascius bars and coins are physical manifestations of different amounts of Bitcoin, with private keys that can access private keys connected to film on the object itself.
Gort said he had purchased the bar in 2012 when the BTC price was below $100.
“I thought the Cascius coins were cool at that time, maybe the future,” he told Cointelegraph. “I think these coins will be part of history, so I started collecting these coins.”
More than $10 million in physical Bitcoin
On May 13, Bitcoin was priced at about $104,000, bringing Galt’s bar worth more than $10 million. Although he told Cointelegraph, he had considered selling it by 2025, it would be hard to find a legitimate buyer for such a valuable item.
“Redening it feels like destroying a piece of history, like melting some old gold necklaces or something,” Gort said. “I would rather sell it with stickers and everything is still intact. But the higher the value, the harder it is.”
Although funds were redeemed and more easily available through hardware wallets, Gort said he had no plans to cash out immediately. Before using the private key, he reported placing the bar in a vault outside the home.
“People with 100 BTC have changed their lives for anyone. But I have had it for so long that it’s more important than being rich all of a sudden, to stay safe.”
Related: The father and son team said they have recovered $6 million in lost cryptocurrency
There are still a limited number of unredeemed Cascius poles and coins still in circulation, ranging from brass or silver coins of 0.5 BTC and 1 BTC coins to 100-BTC gold-plated rods. Physical Bitcoin contains a private key that can be revealed by disassembling the tampered hologram.
According to Casascius tracker Uberbills yes There are over 17,000 active and unredeemed coins and bars. These include two 1,000-BTC bars worth over $100 million, a 500-BTC bar worth $50 million and 35 100-BTC bars.
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