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BitcoinTalk forum user JohnGalt turned a forgotten $500 Casascius gold bar into $10 million treasure.
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He bought 100 BTC bar in 2012, when Bitcoin’s price was around five dollars.
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Despite of all, an exposed private key cost JohnGalt $40,000 in Bitcoin Cash stolen within nine minutes.
A BitcoinTalk user just turned a $500 Casascius Bitcoin bar from 2012 into a $10 million fortune. After holding the 100 BTC bar for over a decade, he finally cracked it open, only to lose $40K in Bitcoin Cash within minutes due to a leaked private key.
Here’s what happened behind this rare piece of Bitcoin history.
100 BTC Bar Becomes a Jackpot
Back in 2012, when Bitcoin was still a niche idea traded mostly among tech enthusiasts, JohnGalt got his hands on a Casascius gold bar loaded with 100 BTC. At the time, Bitcoin’s price hovered around $5, so he paid about $500 for it worth almost nothing to most people back then.
But for JohnGalt, it felt special to hold Bitcoin in physical form.
Over the years, he admitted he was tempted many times to sell it. He even tried to auction it a few times but found it hard to part with something so unique. The problem? Not many people trusted buying a physical Bitcoin bar for millions when you could just buy Bitcoin directly.
$10 Million BTC Bar
Fast forward to now, Bitcoin has smashed through $118,000, turning JohnGalt’s 100 BTC into about $10 million. He explained that holding something worth eight figures felt too risky, so he finally decided to crack open the bar and claim his coins.
So, he made the tough call: break open the bar, reveal the private key, and move those 100 BTC into his wallet.
That simple action turned a collector’s item back into pure Bitcoin, instantly worth about $10 million.
Exposed Private Key Costs Him $40K
But there was a twist. Because Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash share the same private key system, someone with sharp eyes spotted JohnGalt’s partially exposed private key in a photo he posted online.
Within nine minutes, they used it to drain about $40,000 worth of Bitcoin Cash before JohnGalt could claim it himself.