AI Recovers Fortune in Bitcoin After 11 Years of Lost Access

In a remarkable tale of digital recovery, a Polish man has regained access to a cryptocurrency wallet containing 5 Bitcoin, a fortune now valued at over $400,000, after an 11-year struggle. The saga began around 2014-2015 when the user, identified on X as cprkrn, possessed the Bitcoin when they were worth significantly less and considered more of a technological novelty. The trouble started when, under the influence of alcohol, he changed his wallet password and subsequently forgot it.

For over a decade, the man tirelessly attempted to regain access. He tried numerous password combinations and even enlisted the help of paid data recovery services, all to no avail. Crucially, he had retained old password fragments, data, and files from his original computer, which would later prove instrumental. As the value of Bitcoin surged over the years, the loss of his digital assets became increasingly painful.

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After more than 11 years, AI recovered a wallet with Bitcoins.

His final attempt involved leveraging the power of artificial intelligence. In 2026, he submitted his old computer files, backups, notes, and wallet-related archives to Claude AI, a model developed by Anthropic. The AI, in conjunction with the btcrecover tool, identified a flaw in how encryption data was being interpreted. It discovered that the key and password were being combined in the wrong order, leading to previous recovery attempts' failure.

By correcting the logic, the AI successfully extracted the private keys, allowing the wallet to be imported and the 5 BTC to be recovered. This story, widely shared online, serves as a modern-day treasure hunt enabled by cutting-edge technology. While celebrating the success, experts caution users about the inherent risks of uploading sensitive wallet files to external AI tools, as these keys grant complete control over digital assets. From a Polish perspective, this is not just a story about cryptocurrency; it's a testament to human perseverance and the transformative potential of AI in solving complex problems, even those stemming from personal mistakes.

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Claude detected an error in the way encryption data was interpreted. The program combined the key and password in the wrong order, causing previous decryption attempts to fail.