On-chain trackers spotted fresh movement from a long-dormant Bitcoin (BTC) address linked to convicted Irish cannabis grower Clifton Collins.
The wallet sent 500 BTC, valued at roughly $41.5 million, straight into Coinbase Prime after more than a decade of silence.
Lookonchain and Arkham both flagged the transfer on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.
This latest transfer continues a pattern that began earlier in the year. Irish authorities have already recovered several similar 500 BTC batches from the same original stash.
Who is Clifton Collins and how did he amass so much BTC?
Clifton Collins, a former beekeeper from Ireland, built a cannabis-growing operation across rented houses in the mid-2000s.
He channelled the profits into Bitcoin during late 2011 and early 2012, when each coin still traded for only a few dollars.
By the time he finished, he controlled about 6,000 BTC spread across twelve separate wallets.
He printed the private keys on paper and hid the document inside a fishing-rod case at a rented property in County Galway.
How did the private keys disappear?
Collins received a five-year prison sentence in 2017. While he sat in jail, the landlord cleared the house and threw the belongings into a landfill.
The paper keys vanished with the rubbish. Ireland’s High Court later ruled the coins were proceeds of crime and ordered them forfeited to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
For years the wallets sat untouched because nobody could access the keys.
Why is this particular BTC moving now?
CAB, working with Europol’s cybercrime experts, has gradually cracked several of the twelve wallets through advanced decryption techniques.
Earlier recoveries of 500 BTC occurred in March, May and July 2026.
The newest batch follows the same route: the coins leave the old address and land inside Coinbase Prime, a venue institutions use for large, regulated transfers.
On-chain observers note the method remains consistent with previous official seizures rather than a private recovery of “lost” keys.
How much of the original stash remains untouched?
Arkham data shows roughly 4,000–4,500 BTC still sitting in the remaining tagged wallets.
At current prices that residual pile is worth well over $300 million.
Each successful decryption raises the possibility that more of these long-dormant coins will eventually reach the market through official channels.
Does this movement create sell pressure on BTC?
Past recoveries have not produced dramatic price crashes, yet traders still watch institutional deposit addresses closely.
Large, sudden inflows into Coinbase Prime can signal upcoming sales or custody rearrangements.
Meanwhile, the broader BTC market continues to digest exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows and other macro signals, so any single 500 BTC transfer remains a secondary factor rather than a market-moving event on its own.
The story illustrates how law-enforcement agencies keep refining their ability to unlock older Bitcoin holdings once ruled proceeds of crime.
It also reminds holders that even coins considered permanently lost can reappear years later when technical capability and legal authority finally align.
