Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins' dormant 500 BTC has appeared in on-chain transactions after nearly 10 years

Collins purchased approximately 6,000 BTC with proceeds from marijuana sales between 2011 and 2012, and stored them across 12 wallets. His private keys were saved in paper form and hidden in a fishing rod case in a rental property in Galway, Ireland. After Collins was arrested in 2017, the house was cleared out, and his personal belongings were sent to a landfill.

Subsequently, both the authorities and Collins believed that the private keys had been permanently lost, and the court ruled that the related assets were to be confiscated as criminal proceeds. The on-chain transfer of 500 BTC indicates that this batch of assets may not have been completely lost.