A collector purchased a Casascius Bitcoin bar for $500 in 2012 and redeemed it for over $10 million in Bitcoin.

PANews, July 2 - According to a report by Cryptoslate, a collector who claimed to be John Galt on the Bitcoin Talk forum redeemed over $10 million worth of Bitcoin from a solid gold Casascius Bitcoin bar purchased for $500 in 2012. Casascius physical Bitcoins were first minted by Mike Caldwell in 2011 and are one of the most iconic collectibles in the history of crypto assets. These bars and coins embedded with real BTC range in denomination from 0.1 BTC to 1,000 BTC. Each Casascius Bitcoin is a collectible coin that contains real Bitcoin inside. Each one has its own Bitcoin address and is printed with a redeemable "Private Key." However, after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) classified Caldwell's business as a money transfer service, the minting of the coin ceased in 2013. Nevertheless, the monetary value and historical value of the coin continue to rise. According to casasciustracker.com, to date, more than 10,000 Casascius coins have been redeemed, with over 18,000 still in use or unclaimed.