British Investor Regains Control of $4.7M in Frozen Bitcoin After 12-Year Ordeal
A British investor has finally regained control of his 61 Bitcoin stash worth $4.7 million after a 12-year ordeal.
The man, identified only as Chris, purchased the coins in December 2011 through Britcoin, one of the UK's first cryptocurrency exchanges, at a time when Bitcoin traded around £2.94 per coin.
The exchange later rebranded as Intersango before shutting down in 2014 due to financial difficulties, freezing his account and leaving him with a holding valued at approximately £4,000 at the time.
Chris's case stands in contrast to James Howells' infamous lost fortune of around $638 million, which he claims was misplaced when a hard drive containing the private keys was discarded in 2013. Unlike Howells, Chris pursued a formal claim through CEL Solicitors and established his ownership through court filings and related proceedings in the US.
The case was resolved through negotiations rather than a hearing before a judge, with the full 61 Bitcoin transferred into an account controlled by Chris within months.