Bitcoin Owner Recovers $4.4M Stash After 12-Year Exchange Collapse Lawsuit

A man, referred to as 'Chris', has successfully recovered his $4.4 million Bitcoin fortune after a grueling 12-year battle.

Chris's journey began in 2011 when he bought 61 BTC following advice from a friend that it was going to be 'a massive thing'. At the time, the price of Bitcoin hovered around $0.22. He chose Intersango, a UK exchange that offered pound-based bitcoin trading, but unfortunately, did not withdraw his investment to a self-custody wallet.

The exchange shut down in early 2014, leaving customers without access to their funds and with limited options, as it was not licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Chris's investment had already more than doubled, but he felt 'a bit of a shock' when it happened, describing it as 'not really money that I wanted to lose.'

After 12 years of waiting, Chris received emails from Intersango's founders in 2018, asking former customers to contact them. At his wife's behest, he contacted CEL Solicitors, a firm specializing in recovering lost cryptocurrency. Ryan Sweetnam, Director of Financial Litigation at CEL Solicitors, successfully recovered Chris' cryptocurrency after a lengthy process.