Since the launch of Ordinals, each satoshi (the smallest fraction of a bitcoin) has different values. For example, collectors pay 1 Bitcoin for 0.00000001 BTC, believing that such a fraction is “legendary.”
Among these rare satoshis are Bitcoin fractions from the network’s first transaction, sent from Satoshi Nakamoto to Hal Finney, as well as satoshis tied to the purchase of 2 pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins. But also other sought after ones are the first satoshis that are mined after every block and halving.
Due to the value that these satoshis can reach, one developer believes that some companies are “stealing” these fractions of Bitcoin, separating them from the satoshis that have only their face value.
The developer reveals transactions that filter rare satoshis
Known as mothernaut, the developer was surprised by his own discovery. Post two screenshots, show that 40% of mining pools use the same custodian. Going further, it turns out that this company would separate valuable fractions of Bitcoin.
“Today I learned that over 40% of the hashrate send their mining rewards directly to the same custodian”wrote the developer. “I believe the custodian is Cobo, based on the flow of money on the network and some circumstantial evidence.”
“Whoever the custodian is, they are also actively filtering out the “unusual” Ordinals satoshis from these newly mined coins.”
From research conducted by Livecoins, it is possible to see that the address mentioned by mononaut separates each first satoshi mined from a block. Considered rare, there is only 1 in every 26 bitcoins.
According to information from the Magic Eden website, each of these satoshi is valued at $123. In total the address has 522 rare satoshis, generating a profit of US$222,500 (R$1.1 million) for the company in question. For comparison, the nominal price of a satoshi is only $0.00042.
Is Bitcoin’s Fungibility Under Threat?
First, it is necessary to understand that the numbering created by ordinal numbers is subjective. Basically, satoshis are numbered in order of output in a transaction. Although they have become popular with collectors, this interpretation is therefore not objective.
In other words, no satoshi will be the target of an investigation because he is linked to a hack from, say, ten years ago. Still, Ordinals have gained a lot of popularity in recent months.
If you want to know if you have rare satoshi in your wallet, you can use websites that specialize in this. Extracting it is a little more complicated. After all, you need to know where this fraction is before you try to separate it.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
