Who Cracked Bitcoin July 4th? 80k BTC Moved in What Might Be First Real Exploit

10 months ago

80,000 BTC (worth $8.6 billion) were moved from 8 untouched wallets on July 4, 2025.
The wallets had been inactive for over 14 years, each containing exactly 10,000 BTC.
The transfers were perfectly coordinated, suggesting a deliberate act rather than a random event.
The wallets were all P2PKH (legacy format) and likely generated with flawed randomness in 2010–2011.
On-chain messages included legal notices and a reference to the TV series 'Lost' numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42).
The operation may exploit weak key generation in early Bitcoin wallets, challenging the security of dormant funds.
A legal framework was presented, claiming the funds as 'abandoned' and requiring proof of ownership by September 30.
The event raises concerns about the security of legacy Bitcoin addresses and the inviolability of private keys.
Potential market impacts include panic sell-offs and mass migration from P2PKH to more secure wallet formats.
The incident serves as a warning about cryptographic vulnerabilities in early Bitcoin wallets.

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