NewsletterHow Did a Viral $10M Bitcoin Redemption End with $50k Missing?
Highlights
- A Bitcointalk user turned $500 into $10M on a 13-year-old Casascius Bitcoin gold bar investment.
- After redeeming the bar, the user accidentally exposed a mini-private key, leading to a $50k BCH token theft.
- Although stolen BCH was later returned, the wallet remains compromised.
Bitcoin news of an individual trader redeeming his 13-year-old Gold bar surfaced in the crypto community and quickly gained traction. In these years, the BTC price has surged from a mere few dollars to six figures, turning the individual into a multi-millionaire as the profit came near $10M. However, soon $50k went missing from the total funds? Why? Let’s discuss.
Bitcointalk User Turned $500 Into $10M With Bitcoin Gold Bars
A senior Bitcointalk user, JohnGalt, made headlines earlier in May as he unsealed his 13-year Bitcoin Casascius Gold bar and redeemed the BTC. Notably, he bought 100 BTC at just $500 more than a decade ago in 2012. At that time, the price of one BTC was just $5. Now in 2025, the same token’s worth grew to $107k, bringing the total profit to $10M.
The crypto trader revealed that he had been holding on to the bar due to its emotional value, as he believed the physical Bitcoin is worth more than the money.
I didn’t want to redeem it, though. To me, a physical Bitcoin that hasn’t been redeemed feels like it’s worth more than just the money. I did try to sell it a few times, but it’s hard selling something that valuable, and you really can’t trust just anyone. I even looked into auctions, but I’d be getting less than what the Bitcoin itself was worth” reads JohnGalt’s Bitcointalk post.
Notably, these Casascius Gold bars were created by Mike Caldwell in 2011. Each bar came with a tamper-evident hologram and a hidden private key giving access to the tokens. In the present time, these are considered collectibles and come in different ranges. Now, only 35 such bars are unopened, so the hype is true around them.
Bitcoin News: How did the Holder lose $50k?
Although JohnGalt redeemed the Gold bar, he did not cash out the tokens. Instead, he split the $10M worth of BTC into 10 different wallet addresses as it was too risky to hold such a huge value in a single private key or even in a physical bar.
However, he made one prominent mistake in posting a guide to access such funds.
He included a private mini-key image that was visible to viewers. The wallet connected to the mini-key had 100 BCH as an unclaimed forked coin, worth $50K, which a crypto user, Nexusrushrush, claimed.
Instead of Johnvolts, Nexusrush gained access to these BCH tokens. Notably, the individual soon returned the token to the original wallet. However, the wallet is already compromised, and anyone could access it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who is the Bitcoin investor who made $10M from the Bitcoin Gold bar?
2. What’s a Casascius Gold bar?
3. What happened to the stolen $50k BCH?
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