Bitcoin Owner Redeems 100 BTC from 13-Year-Old Gold Bar at $10.6M

An early Bitcoin owner, who had purchased a Casascius gold bar containing a Bitcoin private key in 2012, recently decided to redeem the 100 BTC stored within it. The gold bar, which was acquired for $500, was unsealed after being held for 13 years, revealing the private key on the Bitcointalk forum. The owner chose to split the 100 BTC into different addresses due to the high value of the single gold-plated bar, which was redeemed when BTC prices were above $106,000.

The owner posted the path to unsealing the gold bar’s mini-key hologram and accessing the coins through new wallets. The decision to redeem the bar was influenced by the extremely high value of the single gold-plated bar, which made it too valuable to hold in one place. The owner did not cash out the redeemed BTC, which remained in new wallets.

Gold bars and coins containing a Bitcoin private key have been swapped and traded over the years. An early user sold a gold bar for $26,000 in 2013, at a time when bars were a novelty and some resold at a premium of 125 BTC. The latest auction for a Casascius coin was in 2022, when the value of the hidden wallets was more appreciated. The latest redeemed bar was also seen as a valuable novelty item, as the owner considers an auction for the physical item.

Casascius gold bars are designed to protect their Bitcoin keys. In theory, the gold bars that have not been tampered with should protect the private seed for years. The mini-seed also proved compatible with existing wallets, as the user created new addresses to move the coins. Based on the Casascius record, only 35 unopened 100-BTC bars remain. Unopened coins and bars now hold more than $3.9B based on current BTC value.

The user had to take extra steps to redeem the coins, using a tool to convert a mini seed to its full version and a user-friendly QR code. Redeeming the bar through several addresses was also seen as the more secure path than selling the bar unsealed. Owning physical wallets or coins holding a private seed runs into the risk of attempted theft or loss, especially at a time when even Ledger owners have faced kidnapping attempts.

A Bitcoin bar or coin is not protected in any way, and anyone that views the private seed can extract the coins. Unfortunately, the bar’s holder posted the mini-seed on the forum, before claiming the forked coins. Someone immediately sent out 100 BCH valued at over $50K, while also gaining access to smaller forks. Later, the user Nexusrushrush admitted to taking the BCH, but returned them to the original wallet, which was already compromised, and open for someone else to sweep. No new offers were made to the gold bar’s owner to return forked coins.

There are also two known bars in existence with 1,000 BTC on them. As of 2020, both remained unclaimed. The items containing private keys stopped selling in 2013, only reselling as novelty items. Currently, the physical gold bar has become a rarity even if redeemed.