In April 2025, bitcoin experienced pronounced price volatility, dipping below the $80,000 mark. Amid this downturn, a long-dormant entity moved 200 BTC—the first transaction from that address since December 27, 2012. What elevates this event is the origin of the coins: two separate Casascius physical bitcoin bars, each containing precisely 100 BTC, collectively worth roughly $19.2 million at the time.
Historic Peel: Two Rare 100 BTC Bars Cashed In
On April 8, a collector cracked open the two bars, stripping their tamper-evident holograms and transferring the Bitcoin elsewhere. These bars came from Mike Caldwell's Series 2 (S2) run of 100 BTC bars. Caldwell minted a total of 81 such bars in S2, and according to casasciustracker.com, 30 remain unpeeled in the wild. For Series 1 (S1), only 7 out of 57 minted 100 BTC bars are still sealed. The most recent prior expenditure of a 100 BTC bar occurred in October 2024, and before that, October 2021. Spending Casascius artifacts is rare; parting with a 100 BTC bar is even rarer.
The Ultra-Rare 1,000 BTC Bars
Even scarcer are the 1,000 BTC bars: only 16 were minted, and merely two remain sealed or unspent. The last time a 1,000 BTC bar was opened dates back to August 2014. Across the entire Casascius program, some 27,929 coins and bars were minted; 18,042 are still active. In April 2025 alone, roughly 20 coins lost their holograms. Collectively, these pieces originally encapsulated about 91,263 BTC. Holders have redeemed 52,569 BTC, leaving 38,694 BTC entombed within still-sealed items, valued at approximately $3.64 billion at current prices.
The timing of the April 8 peel is particularly intriguing: Bitcoin was trading around $76,000 at the moment of redemption, only to rebound to the $82,000 level the very next day. This episode underscores both the resilience of bitcoin and the enduring mystique of Casascius collectibles.