Man Becomes Instant Millionaire After Forgetting Bitcoin Ownership for 12 Years
A man from the United Kingdom, who lost access to his Bitcoin (BTC) for 12 years, has finally managed to recover the assets. The Bitcoin, which he purchased more than a decade ago, is now worth approximately £3.3 million (around Rp 78 billion), instantly transforming him into a millionaire.
The story was reported by LBC on 26 August. The man, who chose to remain anonymous, initially purchased £1,500 worth of Bitcoin after a friend convinced him that the cryptocurrency would one day become something significant. According to Yahoo Financial, at that time, Bitcoin was still in its early stages of development, having been launched only about two years prior, and was not yet widely known to the public.
The man was among the early Bitcoin users in the UK, purchasing the digital asset through Intersargo, one of the earliest crypto exchanges in the UK that began operating in 2011. However, complications arose several years later when Intersango ceased operations in 2014, leaving users without access and without certainty regarding the assets stored on the platform.
Upon attempting to log back into his Intersango account, the man found his account had been frozen. He was also disappointed to learn that the exchange was not under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For years, he could only watch the value of Bitcoin rise without being able to access his holdings. Meanwhile, life continued, and he had to manage financial responsibilities such as funding his children’s university education and supporting his elderly parents who were facing health issues.
“It was very painful to see the price of Bitcoin 계속 rising,” he said. Eventually, he stopped monitoring the price altogether, assuming the money was gone for good. “I thought it was useless, the money was lost. I had simply accepted it as vanished.”
Hope briefly emerged in 2018 when he received an email from two Intersango founders asking former users to contact them. However, fearing the email was a phishing scam, he deleted it. The opportunity to recover his assets finally arrived years later when his wife encouraged him to contact a law firm specialising in recovering lost cryptocurrency.
Within months, the legal team successfully helped restore access to his Bitcoin, which had been locked for approximately 12 years. Ryan Sweetnam, Director of Financial Litigation at CEL Solicitors, stated that his team managed to gather the necessary documentation to prove the client’s ownership of the crypto assets. Sweetnam also suspects that one of the Intersango founders held around 5,500 Bitcoin, some of which likely belonged to former UK customers.
The Bitcoin, originally purchased for around £1,500, is now worth approximately £3.3 million (US$4.4 million). After regaining access, the man chose to store his Bitcoin on a crypto exchange that is officially regulated and supervised. Having spent years believing the Bitcoin was lost, he is now considering how to use his wealth. He plans to sell a portion of his Bitcoin holdings to purchase a larger house to accommodate his ailing mother-in-law, and also intends to host a celebration and take his family on holiday.