Researchers recover 43.6 bitcoins that have been dormant for over a decade by cracking a 20-character password

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that two researchers helped a man recover the lost password to his cryptocurrency wallet, which contained 43.6 bitcoins, currently worth about $2.96 million.

The man, referred to as Michael, created a cryptocurrency wallet sometime in 2013 and then used RoboForm to create his unique password. Due to security concerns, Michael stored the password in an encrypted file, choosing not to store it in RoboForm. However, when the encrypted file became corrupted, Michael no longer had access to the 20-character password needed to access the 43.6 bitcoins in the wallet.

Although Michael does not fully remember when he created his password, the researchers noted that he transferred bitcoins into his wallet on April 13, 2013. They used specific time parameters to test many passwords until they found the correct one, which was created on May 15, 2013.

Michael transferred a portion of the bitcoins to the two researchers. He also sold another small portion, so he now holds 30 bitcoins, worth about $2 million. Michael stated that he intends to hold his bitcoins until the value of a single token reaches $100,000.

He added that he is glad he was unable to access the wallet, as holding the tokens for a long time has increased their value over time.