The "physical BTC" has emerged, a 13-year long 20,000 times investment miracle.

Original｜Odaily Odaily Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜Wenser（**@wenser 2010 ）

The crypto world has never been short of investment miracles, especially with the "one true god" — BTC, where countless wealth creation stories have been played out on early BTC holders. Known as "digital gold," BTC has gradually reached a price equivalent to that of one kilogram of gold.

Legend has it that in May of this year, a Bitcoin forum user named John Galt claimed to have purchased a "physical BTC" resembling a gold bar for $500 in 2012, which contained 100 BTC assets, and successfully exchanged it for $10 million this May. Countless onlookers initially thought this was another "physical BTC joke," but upon careful verification, many discovered that it was indeed true.

Odaily will tell the story of this 13-year 20,000 times return investment miracle in this article.

A forum post leads to a 13-year-long 20,000-fold investment miracle

In May of this year, a post titled "A Sad Day for Bitcoin Physical Collectors" on the Bitcoin forum Bitcointalk attracted a rush of attention from forum users.

John Galt posted that——

Yes, do you remember I mentioned I have a Casascius Bitcoin bar? Yes, it was a 100 BTC one, and I got it for about $500 around 2012. A few years ago, when the price of Bitcoin exceeded $10,000, I started to feel very anxious. I mean, holding something worth over a million dollars? That was too much pressure.

But I don't want to exchange it.

For me, an unredeemed physical Bitcoin feels more valuable than money itself.

I have indeed tried several times to sell it, but it's hard to sell something so valuable, and you really can't trust anyone. I also considered auctioning it, but the value I would get would be far lower than the value of the Bitcoin itself. Now its value is over ten million dollars, and I know I can't just leave it there. So, yes... even though I'm a bit uncertain, I finally redeemed it today.

Transaction Hash Link:

I'm sorry.

Between the words, there is a sense of guilt and regret from loyal Bitcoin supporters forced to choose between BTC and immense wealth. However, when faced with a purely symbolic "physical gold bar" and 10 million dollars, I believe the average person can make a more suitable choice.

Since then, an investment miracle that has been sealed for 13 years has finally officially revealed itself to the world, and such a miracle, in the increasingly solidified traditional financial sector, can only be possessed by those who hold BTC. 13 years, 500 dollars, 10 million dollars, three numbers together constitute this "cryptocurrency wonder."

Casascius Physical Bitcoin: A Short-lived Attempt at "Physical BTC" and the Crazy Wealth Creation Spectacle

According to reports, the user named John Galt mentioned on the Bitcoin forum bitcointalk that the Casascius physical bitcoins are indeed real.

The project was issued in 2011 by Bitcoin early evangelist Mike Caldwell, who encapsulated Bitcoin's private keys in a coin or bar through physical stickers. These "physical Bitcoins" were once very popular, but due to regulatory pressure, Casascius stopped producing them with real Bitcoin private keys in 2013. Now, these "physical BTCs" are more like rare collectibles with significant historical meaning in the span of over a decade of crypto history.

Physical BTC physical image

According to data from casasciustracker.com, as of May this year, this once "reverse RWA crypto project" has redeemed about 10,000 Casascius coins, with over 18,000 still in a dormant state.

A "physical BTC" coin or gold bar is equivalent to a millionaire.

It can be said that back then, anyone who spent 500 dollars to purchase 1 "physical BTC" (whether a coin or a gold bar) and held it until now would have received a return of about 10 million dollars. Moreover, there are still nearly 18,000 millionaires who have yet to be discovered, or who have long since disappeared into the corners of history, just like the British programmer who lost a hard drive containing the private key for 7,500 bitcoins.

By the way, Mike Caldwell is also an active user on Bitcoin forums, and his username is Casascius, which means "frank". In addition, he is also an explorer, having previously buried a Bitcoin paper wallet at the North Pole in 2013, symbolically bringing Bitcoin to the ends of the Earth.

Moreover, after John Galt revealed that he held 100 BTC and had redeemed the corresponding assets, a user on the Bitcoin forum immediately "stole" the BCH tokens owned by an early BTC holding address using its abandoned private key, worth over 40,000 USD. It was only after being reminded by others that John Galt realized he was one step behind. However, his response was quite calm, after all, compared to 40,000 USD, receiving 10 million USD was enough to leave him very satisfied.

John Galt appeared calm

In addition, according to crypto KOL @0x Todd's traceability tracking, these so-called "physical BTC" coins or bars are most likely made of alloy + gold plating, and not actual gold.

Source: 0x Todd

In conclusion, overall, this is an inspiring story of rewarding "BTC diamond hands", a wealth miracle with a return rate of over 20,000 times. The main character remains the same, still that BTC created by the mysterious person Satoshi Nakamoto, adorned with the honor of "digital gold", with a capped supply of only 21 million coins.