A rare Casascius physical Bitcoin holding 25 BTC was redeemed after 15 years, unlocking about $1.78M and ending its collectible status.
Bitcoin News
A rare physical Bitcoin from the early Casascius series has been redeemed after 15 years, unlocking 25 BTC worth about $1.78 million.
The coin was part of the Casascius Physical Bitcoin collection, a set of physical coins created by Bitcoin developer Mike Caldwell between 2011 and 2013. Each coin included a visible Bitcoin address and a hidden private key sealed behind a tamper-evident hologram.
Redeeming the coin required peeling the hologram and sweeping the private key on-chain. That gave the owner access to the Bitcoin inside, but also ended the coin’s status as an intact collectible.
From Bitcoin Experiment to Collectible Asset
Casascius coins were originally designed as a physical way to introduce people to Bitcoin. The redeemed coin came from the Series 1 25 BTC batch, which had 345 coins in total.
According to Casascius Tracker data, 236 of those coins have now been redeemed. The latest redemption came from the address 1tLPQwd6wjvZpreivwHsEuU2ceSv6zaon.
The 25 BTC held inside the coin was worth less than $100 when the wallet was created in December 2011. At current prices, the same Bitcoin is worth about $1.78 million.
Unredeemed Casascius coins can trade above the value of the Bitcoin they contain because collectors value the physical artifact and intact hologram. Once redeemed, the coin loses that premium and becomes a spent collectible.
Caldwell stopped producing the coins in late 2013 after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advised him that he was operating as a money transmitter without a license.
The redemption also came during a week of unusual movement from dormant Bitcoin holdings. A separate 2011-era wallet moved 35 BTC after 15 years of inactivity, according to a report.
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