Anonymous user recovers 11-year-old crypto wallet with $3M in BTC
Cybersecurity experts helped an anonymous user recover a Bitcoin wallet with 43.6 BTC that was lost 11 years ago.
The YouTube video featured Joe Grand and Bruno, who decoded the password generation algorithm. Their persistent effort led to the recovery of Bitcoins that were once thought to be lost.
Unlocking a Decade-old Crypto Vault
The individual at the center of this story, referred to as Michael for the sake of anonymity, recounted to Grand and Bruno his experience of setting up his digital wallet back in 2013. He leveraged RoboForm for generating a unique password, choosing, out of heightened security concerns, to store this vital password within an encrypted file rather than in RoboForm’s storage.
Michael shared, back then, he was incredibly vigilant about security, revealing that the value of the Bitcoins at the time was approximately $5,300. Regrettably, the encrypted file suffered corruption, leading to a loss of access to his digital coins.
Initially, when Michael reached out to Grand in 2022, his request was declined. Undeterred, he approached Grand again in June 2023 and this time, caught his interest. This began their adventure to recover the digital treasure.
They unearthed a flaw in RoboForm’s algorithm for generating random numbers, which linked the creation of every password to the specific time and date it was generated on a user’s device. Since this issue was rectified in 2015, they hypothesized it impacted all passwords generated prior to the fix.
From Recovery to HODLing for the Moon
One of the challenges was for Michael to recall the exact date he had devised the password. It was a formidable task, but the breakthrough came when they pinpointed April 13, 2013, as the day Michael transferred his bitcoins to the wallet. By narrowing down to time-specific parameters and running through countless potential passwords, they pinpointed the correct one, crafted on May 15, 2013.
After successfully accessing the wallet and securing the bitcoins, Michael generously shared a portion of the recovered funds with Grand and Bruno, as the BTC price was around $38,000. Subsequently, as the price soared to $62,000, Michael sold a portion for his personal gain. He now possesses 30 BTC, estimated to be worth about $2 million, and plans to hold onto them until the value reaches $100,000.
