Neovim have a ~$800k Bitcoin donation sitting untouched since 2023

I was looking at neovim's donation footer at the bottom of their site and saw a bitcoin donation address.

Thought I'd check how much in donations they've gotten. And I saw this massive 10 Bitcoin donation from back in 2023 (worth $800,000 now...)

From the activity history, neovim last sent bitcoin out of the address in 2019 so it's been max 7 years since they've definitely had access.

Does anyone from the neovim project know about this? Seems like a pretty significant amount of funding to have sitting there. Hope it can come to good use as I use neovim daily.

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/addresses/btc/1Evu6wPrzjsjrNPdCYbHy3HT6ry2EzXFyQ

106 points | by jakemanger 1 hour ago

9 comments

zicohacks 6 minutes ago
I checked their official donation channel is OpenCollective. I think the Bitcoin address is no longer being used and they just forgot to update the footer
seymon 49 minutes ago
I hope they still have the private key.
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- jakemanger 28 minutes ago
  Really hope so too. Would be devastating
Razengan 10 minutes ago
This could become the premise of a near-cyberpunk heist movie..
wyclif 49 minutes ago
The project no longer uses that Bitcoin wallet for bounties.
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- ricardobeat 39 minutes ago
  What does that mean for that donation, and why is the wallet still listed on the website?
  [-]
  - ramijames 7 minutes ago
    I think that a large part of the priced in "value" of Bitcoin is just lots and lots of Bitcoin that nobody can access anymore.
pluc 51 minutes ago
hodl
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- esskay 41 minutes ago
  I know you're joking but keeping bitcoin now really does feel like a poor investment given it's showing no signs of ever being revived.
  [-]
  - w4yai 28 minutes ago
    https://bitcoindeaths.com/
  - accountrequired 35 minutes ago
    Bitcoin died *again*? hehe :P
    [-]
    - esskay 26 minutes ago
      oh i dont think its 'dead' in the way people often describe. More...done. Like, the period of obscene growth is over and its now seemingly settled into a fairly dull investment with mediocre returns.
      [-]
      - sph 12 minutes ago
        Well, that’s what people have said all the way to $70k+ price.
  - zeofig 23 minutes ago
    Buy signal
colesantiago 40 minutes ago
Bitcoin really isn't money.
They should send it to a dead wallet instead.
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- AIiscoming 37 minutes ago
  True and its also not compareable to gold.
  But as long as others giving you real money for this garbage, it would be better to use it for a project like neovim :)
  [-]
  - deniska 32 minutes ago
    To never have experienced a usefulness of cryptocurrency is a privileged position to be in.
  - colesantiago 26 minutes ago
    A dead wallet has better use for Bitcoin though.
    We don't know where the Bitcoin has come from, so it needs to go extensive through anti money laundering checks.
    Save the hassle of all of that taxes, accountancy and just send everything to a dead wallet.
    [-]
    - done_lurking 4 minutes ago
      In what country does a bitcoin donation need to go through an "anti money laundering check"? Also, you could pay a lawyer 100k to handle the taxes and accounting and you would still have 700k left over.
- gitowiec 35 minutes ago
  Exactly this! It was rendered money by some minds.
  [-]
  - nullbio 30 minutes ago
    Unlike that paper money. That paper money was created by the Gods!
  - colesantiago 26 minutes ago
    It is even more useless than fiat.
JimBlackwood 56 minutes ago
I imagine they might wait, to make it’s legally obtained Bitcoin.
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- yieldcrv 2 minutes ago
  Something that takes 5 seconds with bitcoin, faster than any other property type, is something you rationalize as taking 7 years
  Why does HN tolerate this level of understanding when it comes to crypto
- a3w 23 minutes ago
  In which country would waiting help?
  [-]
  - cyberpunk 17 minutes ago
    In Germany at least if you've held the coin(s) for 7 years before selling you don't need to pay tax on the profit.
    Not sure how this applies to donations though, and of course this will almost certainly be changed in the future, .nl is leading the way in taxing _unrealised_ gains; we are sure to follow!
    [-]
    - la_fayette 2 minutes ago
      1 year
    - T0Bi 12 minutes ago
      It's one year, unless something changed recently.
loopydosuette 34 minutes ago
is this (w)hole lie still hodling up? crazy! is my botnet still not out of puberty?