15-Year-Old Casascius Physical Bitcoin Redeemed for 25 BTC Worth $1.78 Million on June 3

According to Galaxy Research, a Casascius Physical Bitcoin wallet created in December 2011 was redeemed on-chain on June 3, giving its owner access to 25 BTC worth approximately $1.78 million. The wallet, which held less than $100 in value when originally created, was activated for the first time in 15 years through a private key embedded in the physical coin.

Casascius coins were designed by Bitcoin developer Mike Caldwell as a proof-of-concept and conversation piece to introduce Bitcoin to mainstream audiences. Each coin contains a hidden private key behind a tamper-evident hologram that must be peeled to access the linked Bitcoin. The redeemed coin belonged to the Series 1 batch of 25 BTC coins, of which 345 were produced between 2011 and 2013.