Via WSJ:
Think of them as the metal detectors of the digital age. Instead of combing beaches for gold, these experts use everything from supercomputers to hypnotherapy to reunite people with their lost cryptocurrency.
According to Chainalysis, a blockchain-analysis firm based in New York City, about a fifth of all bitcoin—around $20 billion—is lost, most of it permanently. When people purchase bitcoin, the details of their transactions are stored in software called a “wallet,” which they can unlock with a personal-identification number….
What a mad world it is when radically innovative, made up money can be represented as a safe haven. More:
Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis firm, has recently stated that approximately $20 billion worth of (mostly) Bitcoin (BTC) are no longer accessible due to a large number of users not being able to securely store and access their wallets.
This estimate, according to the New York-based blockchain firm, accounts for most of the world’s “lost cryptocurrency.” Chainalysis claims that its calculation of how much digital currency has been lost is fairly accurate because Bitcoin has been in the market for longer than other cryptocurrencies.
Kim Grauer, a senior economist at Chainalysis, said that the blockchain analysis firm does not “help people find lost bitcoin.” However, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has tracked down nearly $1 billion in lost digital currency revenue during the last two years. Commenting further on its expertise in digital forensics, Chainalysis claims that it can point out “at least one counterparty for 80 percent of all bitcoin transactions.”
Notably, forgetting passwords or other pertinent information required to access a cryptocurrency wallet is a fairly common problem. Jason Miller, an American hypnotist, revealed that about half the people that come to him do so looking for help recalling passwords to crypto wallets, and end up remembering them.
He added that he only accepts about six cases a year, charging 0.5 BTC for his services plus 5 percent of the digital funds, provided that they’re found, in each one of them.
Those who don’t resort to hypnosis often hire tech gurus to use various hints related to their passwords or private information in order to recover secret phrases. The password expert could also experiment with millions of different combinations of characters that could possibly make up a wallet password.
Wallet Recovery Services, a company that helps users remember passwords to their crypto wallets, says that it has about a 30 percent success rate. The company also notes that the success rate depends heavily on whether their customers can provide good clues as to what their password may be.
Hypnosis. The basis of all sound money.
