[ How it works ]
Old coins leave tracks.
Here's how we read them.
Bitcoin is made of discrete chunks called outputs. Each one is created by a transaction and later spent whole. When an output sits unspent for years and is then spent, we call that an awakening.
[01]
What we check
- 01 · ReadEvery confirmed blockFor each transaction, we look at every input and the block that created the output it spends.
- 02 · MeasureAge of each outputSpending block time minus creating block time. Per output, not per wallet.
- 03 · CountFive years or moreOnly outputs unspent for at least five years count. Newer inputs are listed but not counted.
- 04 · PublishOne event per transactionEach gets a permanent page that tells its story and links to the raw data.
[02]
What an event doesn't prove
A transfer is not a sale. A move is not a hack. And the age of a coin says nothing about who owns it: early coins had many owners, so an old output moving is not evidence that Satoshi is back.
Every event page separates what was observed from what it might mean, and lists what it doesn't prove.
[03]
Freshness and corrections
We only report confirmed blocks, and each event page notes the last block we checked. If a block is replaced by a chain reorganization, its events are marked reversed and keep their pages, and Telegram posts get a correction.
[04]
The archive
Events marked Archive happened before GhostWatch went live. We found them by running the same detector over past blocks, so they are real, but they were never live alerts.
[05]
Privacy
No accounts, no sign-ups, no email, no tracking pixels, no third-party analytics. All Bitcoin data is fetched by our server, so your browser never contacts a third party while you use the site.
Your browser remembers two preferences, and only on your device: Simple or Technical, and light or dark. Nothing about you is sent to us.
The “watching” count works without tracking. Each open tab makes up a random code that lives only in its memory and disappears when you close it. Our server counts the codes it has heard from in the last 15 seconds and forgets them. No cookies, and the code is never tied to your IP address.
We describe coins, not people. We don't label addresses with names, and we don't publish lists of vulnerable coins.
The same goes for Bitcoin nodes. The map groups them by place: how many nodes are in a city, which software they run, and how many are caught up. Node addresses, hostnames and hosting providers are dropped on our server and never shown.
[06]
No token
There is no GhostWatch token or coin. Anyone selling one is not us.
[07]
Verify everything
Every event links to the transaction on mempool.space, an independent explorer. If our numbers and the chain ever disagree, the chain is right.
Open mempool.space