An early Casascius physical Bitcoin coin was unsealed this week, and the 25 bitcoins inside were subsequently transferred to a new wallet. Based on the prices cited in the report, this asset is worth approximately $1.78 million. Once unsealed, these types of physical coins lose the premium they command in the collector's market for being in perfect condition.
25 BTC have been transferred to the on-chain address.
The cashed-out physical coin, serial number S1-COIN-25, belongs to the Casascius series issued by Mike Caldwell between 2011 and 2013. This series encapsulates the private key corresponding to the actual Bitcoin under a tamper-evident holographic sticker. Once the holder removes the sticker, they can import the data into their wallet and control their on-chain assets.
On-chain records disclosed by Galaxy Research show that 25 BTC of this physical coin were transferred out on Wednesday. The report mentions that this transfer record appears in Bitcoin block 952,159.
Once opened, it is no longer a complete collection.
Casascius physical coins, launched by software engineer Mike Caldwell, come in denominations of 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 25, 100, and even 1000 Bitcoins. Each coin has a receiving address printed on its exterior, while the corresponding private key is hidden under a holographic sticker on the back.
These types of products have always been quite unique in the collectibles market. In their unopened state, buyers typically pay not only the face value of the Bitcoin contained within, but also an additional premium for the physical item itself. Therefore, this redemption is equivalent to turning a collectible that could potentially be sold for more than its face value back into pure on-chain Bitcoin.
Early physical currency reserves remain a focus of attention.
Mike Caldwell ceased production of these physical coins at the end of 2013. This was because the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FCE) informed him that his business might be classified as an unlicensed money transfer service.
Tracking data indicates that thousands of Casascius physical coins of various denominations remain unredeemed. Among them, the 1000-Bitcoin version has a total supply of fewer than 20 coins, most of which remain intact. At current prices, a single Casascius coin is estimated to be worth close to $66 million in Bitcoin.
This unsealing also occurred amid renewed activity at early dormant Bitcoin addresses. CoinDesk noted that a wallet dating back to 2011 recently transferred out 35 bitcoins after 15 years of inactivity, indicating that the market is continuing to focus on the resurgence of funds from old addresses.
