• Press Releases
    • Submit a press release
    • Read All
  • Contact us
Advertise
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
        • Ethereum Casinos
        • Solana Casinos
        • LiteCoin Casinos
        • DogeCoin Casinos
        • Live Crypto Casinos
        • New Casinos
        • Instant Withdrawal Casinos
        • Cash App Casinos
        • No KYC Casinos
        • VPN Casinos
        • Offshore Casinos
          • Crypto Casinos IT
          • Crypto Casinos ES
            • All Guides
          • Crypto Casinos JP
          • Crypto Casinos SG
          • Crypto Casinos MY
          • Crypto Casinos KR
          • No GAMSTOP Casinos in UK
          • No Cruks Casinos NL
      • Crypto Betting
        • No ID sportsbooks
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
        • Aviator Sites
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Breaking News: Bitcoin Price Makes History By Crossing $126,000: Options Market Forecasts Next Price Targets
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
        • Ethereum Casinos
        • Solana Casinos
        • LiteCoin Casinos
        • DogeCoin Casinos
        • Live Crypto Casinos
        • New Casinos
        • Instant Withdrawal Casinos
        • Cash App Casinos
        • No KYC Casinos
        • VPN Casinos
        • Offshore Casinos
          • Crypto Casinos IT
          • Crypto Casinos ES
            • All Guides
          • Crypto Casinos JP
          • Crypto Casinos SG
          • Crypto Casinos MY
          • Crypto Casinos KR
          • No GAMSTOP Casinos in UK
          • No Cruks Casinos NL
      • Crypto Betting
        • No ID sportsbooks
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
        • Aviator Sites
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: Bitcoin Price Makes History By Crossing $126,000: Options Market Forecasts Next Price Targets
lost bitcoin recovered

Bitcoins Worth $300,000 Recovered by ‘Breaking Zip Encryption’

Trevor Smith
by Trevor Smith
5 years ago
·
Posted in Featured, Bitcoin Security, News, News teaser
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

A cryptographer has posted an article discussing how he cracked an encrypted zip file to recover a lost hoard of Bitcoin keys. This story underscores the need to keep keys safe, and always remember passwords.


Bitcoin Private Keys Found By Cracking INFOZIP

The author, Mike Stay, has a Ph.D. in computer science and an extensive background in cryptography dating to the 1990s. He discusses how he was contacted and hired to crack an encrypted zip file from a man that read a paper he had written on the subject almost twenty years ago. The file contained the private keys to USD $300k worth of Bitcoins purchased in 2016, yet the man had forgotten the password.

He states:

Back in January of 2016, he had bought around $10K or $15K of Bitcoin and put the keys in an encrypted zip file. Now they were worth upwards of $300K and he couldn’t remember the password. Luckily, he still had the original laptop and knew exactly when the encryption took place. Because InfoZip seeds its entropy using the timestamp, that promised to reduce the work enormously—”only” 10 quintillion—and made it quite feasible, a matter of a couple of months on a medium GPU farm. We made a contract and I got to work.

Stay notes that he was able to re-learn his earlier skills, and with some help crack the zip file within a matter of days.

It is important to note that at no time did Stay crack the code to the keys themselves, nor did he compromise any other element of the Bitcoin protocol. Rather, he merely found the password to an encrypted zip file which could have contained any information.

Act Raises Security Concerns

Experts agree that the encryption behind Bitcoin and most other top altcoins is extremely secure, and attempts to crack private keys using presently-available techniques would be futile. Nevertheless, there remains a risk of theft or loss if such keys are not stored properly.

Unfortunately, all too often crypto investors store keys and passwords in unencrypted files, or they follow other lax procedures that put their coins at risk. Sometimes, as outlined in Stay’s story, they do not keep track of passwords. It is well known that almost all cryptocurrency theft and loss is due to user error.

It is impossible to know how many Bitcoins are now irretrievably lost. By some estimates, it is as high as 25% of all present in existence. Perhaps the most speculated upon are the more than one million Bitcoins known to be owned by Satoshi Nakamoto. These have remained unmoved for more than ten years. Craig Wright’s claims notwithstanding, one commonly believed theory is that Satoshi, whoever he is, can no longer access them.

Thus, it is crucially important to follow proper security guidelines when storing cryptocurrency. Passwords must be stored safely, and files encrypted using the latest techniques. Whereas there is no way to guarantee total security, improper personal handling is a very easy way to lose access to funds.

What do you think about this lost and found Bitcoin story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.


Image via Shutterstock

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.
ShareTweetShareShare

Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

For updates and exclusive offers enter your email.

I consent to my submitted data being collected and stored.
Trevor Smith

Trevor Smith

Follow

College professor, public speaker, and analyst of all things related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Full Profile

Related Posts

Цифровой рубль

ЕС готовит санкции против рублевого стейблкоина A7A5

56 minutes ago
BNB

Сезон мемкоинов на BNB набирает обороты

4 hours ago
Биткоин

Биткоин обновил максимум — но это не прежний ATH

1 day ago
Ethena

Ethena и киты: кто управляет будущим ENA

2 days ago
DEX

Фьючерсные DEX выходят на новый уровень активности

2 days ago
BNB

BNB обновил максимум — рынок ускоряется

2 days ago
Please login to join discussion

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • Maxi Doge นักสู้เหรียญมีมยืนโพสท่าในสังเวียนมวย

    Binance-Peg DOGE นำโด่ง Top 11...

    6 hours ago
  • Find Out Why Whales are Rushing to Buy Bitcoin Hyper’s $22M Presale—Plus, Our $HYPER Price Prediction.

    Find Out Why Whales are Rushing to Buy Bitcoin Hyper’s...

    7 hours ago
  • ...

    1 day ago
  • Your Chance to Win Up to 10% Deposit Bonus and Up to 21K $USDT Bonus Prizes at KCEX

    Your Chance to Win Up to 10% Deposit Bonus and Up to 21K...

    1 day ago
  • 分析師稱 FARTCOIN 有望暴漲...

    1 day ago

Bitcoin news portal providing breaking news, guides, price analysis about decentralized digital money & blockchain technology.

Bitcoin

  • News
  • Price
  • Businesses
  • Acceptance
  • Technology
  • Investment
  • Regulation
  • Reviews

Altcoins

  • News
  • Price
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Litecoin
  • EOS

Categories

  • Blockchain
  • Security
  • FinTech
  • Technology
  • Trending
  • Breaking News
  • Press Releases
  • How to

About Us

  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
© 2025 Bitcoinist.com. All Rights Reserved.
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
      • Crypto Betting
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Advertise

© 2025 Bitcoinist. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.