AI Recovers $400K Bitcoin Wallet Lost for 11 Years

Nearly $400,000 in Bitcoin, inaccessible for over 11 years, has been returned to its owner thanks to Anthropic's artificial intelligence model "Claude." The user, known as "Cprkrn" on the X platform, successfully recovered the funds, according to specialized websites.

The story began when the user purchased about 5 Bitcoins over a decade ago, when each coin was worth no more than $250. He lost the password during his university studies, halting his attempts for years while the asset's value silently grew to approximately $398,000 today.

Years of Attempts

For more than a decade, the user tried to regain access to his wallet using specialized password-guessing software and crypto recovery tools, but all efforts failed. Over time, the forgotten wallet became a kind of "lost digital treasure" amid Bitcoin's massive global price surge.

The turning point came when he used Claude to analyze old files extracted from a vintage university computer. Instead of focusing on cracking passwords, the AI helped sort through old data and backups, ultimately leading to the discovery of an old "wallet.dat" file from the wallet's original creation period.

The model also helped identify previously saved recovery information, enabling the user to regain access to his funds without any security breach or bypass of protection systems.

Widespread Reaction and Clarifications

The story sparked significant online reaction, with some initially believing the AI had hacked the wallet. It was later clarified that its role was limited to assisting with search, organization, and analysis of old files. Crypto experts emphasize that tools like "BTCRecover" and smart systems do not "break encryption," but help narrow the search within large, complex files.

This incident highlights a growing phenomenon in the crypto world, where many users hold old wallets they have lost access to, which could now be worth millions of dollars due to Bitcoin's price appreciation.