A rare 25-bitcoin Casascius physical coin worth approximately $1.78 million was redeemed this week after nearly 15 years of dormancy. According to reports from Galaxy Research, the S1-COIN-25 physical bitcoin, part of Mike Caldwell's 2011-2013 mint, had its tamper-evident hologram peeled and the 25 BTC swept on-chain on Wednesday. The redemption was recorded in Bitcoin block 952,159 and represents one of the most significant physical bitcoin transactions in recent years, marking a shift from physical to digital bitcoin ownership. When the coin was originally funded in December 2011, the 25 BTC was worth less than $100, highlighting the extraordinary appreciation of Bitcoin over the past decade and a half.
Casascius coins were physical tokens created by software engineer Mike Caldwell in denominations of 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 25, 100 and even 1,000 BTC. Each coin had its receiving bitcoin address printed on the outside, with the matching private key concealed under a tamper-evident hologram on the back. As reported by Galaxy Research, holders could spend the bitcoin at any time by peeling the hologram and importing the private key into a wallet, a one-way move that destroyed the coin's collectible status. Caldwell halted production in late 2013 after the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advised him he was operating as a money transmitter without a license. According to Casascius Tracker, the latest redemption came from a Series 1 batch where 345 coins were produced, with 236 now redeemed following the latest activation.
Intact Series 1 large-denomination coins typically command a premium over their face bitcoin value, meaning the Wednesday redemption converted what could have been a higher-priced collectible back into pure bitcoin. According to Galaxy Research, intact-hologram Casascius coins continue to occupy an unusual category in collectibles markets, each holding real bitcoin at face value and commanding a numismatic premium for the physical artifact when sold intact in collector markets. Thousands of Casascius coins remain unredeemed across all denominations, with Caldwell minting fewer than 20 of the 1,000-BTC denomination pieces, most of which are still intact and would each now hold the equivalent of roughly $66 million in bitcoin. Even unfunded versions, which were never loaded with BTC, can sell for hundreds of dollars because of their historical significance among collectors.
In a landmark legal development, a Chinese court has sentenced a man to 10 years and nine months in prison for stealing 107 Bitcoin by memorizing a wallet recovery phrase. According to reports from crypto.news, the case began in July 2023 when Bitcoin holder Feng asked acquaintance Zhang to help convert 117 Bitcoin. Zhang memorized 11 of the 12 recovery words while Feng wrote down the last word, then later tested possible words to gain control of the wallet and transferred 107 Bitcoin to addresses he controlled. The Qingdao Intermediate People's Court convicted Zhang on April 28, 2025, and rejected his appeal on November 10, 2025, imposing a 100,000-yuan fine. Prosecutors treated Bitcoin as property under criminal law, arguing that holders exercise exclusive control through private keys and recovery phrases, with electronic evidence tracing 660,000 yuan in cash proceeds to bank accounts.
