Casascius Bitcoin from 2011 Redeemed for $1.78 Million
In brief
- Casascius coin from 2011 holding 25 BTC activated on-chain Tuesday, worth $1.78 million today
- Mike Caldwell created the coin with a private key hidden behind a tamper-evident hologram
- 236 of 345 Series 1 coins redeemed; unredeemed coins trade at premiums on secondary markets
The Casascius Era
The physical coins were created by Bitcoin enthusiast and developer Mike Caldwell, who designed them to introduce physical representations of digital assets during Bitcoin's earliest years. Each coin came built with its own Bitcoin address and a private key hidden behind a tamper-evident hologram that had to be peeled away to access the funds.
The latest redemption comes from the Series 1 25 Bitcoin batch. Of the 345 coins originally produced in that series, 236 have now been redeemed, based on Casascius Tracker data.
Market Momentum and Unredeemed Coins
Redemptions have accelerated in recent months. Last October, when Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $126,080, 46 coins were redeemed with values ranging from 0.5 to 25 BTC—worth about $3.15 million for the top coin at the time. Still, the pace of redemptions remains well below the end of 2017 and early 2018, when Bitcoin first rose near $20,000 for the first time.
Owners holding unredeemed coins face a different calculus. Unredeemed Casascius coins containing sums ranging from 0.1 BTC to 1,000 BTC are listed at a premium to their underlying value on secondary marketplaces like eBay. The premium reflects both scarcity and collectibility—some holders treat them as artifacts of Bitcoin's origin story rather than mere vessels for BTC.
