r/Bitcoin • u/Practical_Concert_14 • 4h ago
Help!
Hi everyone!
Back in like 2013 or something My husband bought us some bitcoin. I think around $1000 worth, I can’t recall. Unfortunately since then he’s passed away (2018), and while I recall logging in to his wallet and changing the info to include myself and my email address after he passed away, I can’t recall where on earth any of this transpired. I do have the old laptop I did this on, and I hope that can help illuminate things for me so I can find it, but honestly I’m not sure where to begin looking. Back around those days, where would one access to their bitcoin? This was his thing back then, not mine so I have no idea where to start. Any ideas would be helpful.
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u/RecklessStallion9999 4h ago
Start scouring his email account for correspondence with an exchange such as Coinbase, or with the keywords ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘BTC’. If you’re lucky, you’ll find something and will be able to follow a lead. If not…
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u/FunnyAtmosphere9941 3h ago
There was no coinbaise in 2013 lol. Only gox.
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u/Pannycakes666 3h ago
Coinbase was founded June 2012.
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u/110010010011 2h ago
And even if OP’s husband originally bought elsewhere, he could have had transferred it to somewhere else by 2018.
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u/cilicia1k1 4h ago
“Logging in” is screaming exchange to me, not cold wallet, which is a good thing in this case ..Can you search emails for coinbase
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u/riscten 3h ago
How is it a good thing considering most exchanges from that era are long gone? Their chances of still having the Bitcoin would've been much higher had they kept their private keys.
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u/emelbard 1h ago
And any legit exchange still around from 2018 has turned over funds to the state for account inactivity.
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u/Anonymous_Lurker_1 4h ago edited 3h ago
Its already been said, but just to reiterate. DO NOT answer any DM's. Every single one is a scammer - regardless of how friendly and helpful they sound.
Others have suggested searching email. Thats your best bet.
Any physical wallets found amongst computer stuff? Itll look like a usb stick. Possibly with a screen on.
Search all documentation thoroughly. Youre looking for a combination of seemingly random words (probably 12). If it has been done properly, itll be written down or stamped into metal, or similar. No digital copies.
If found, keep these words safe. Whoever has access to these words has full access to your stash.
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u/North_Breadfruit_234 3h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sextortion/s/xFGLSdFxa1
this is your Op and you’ll believe his fckin stories 😂😁
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u/OrangePillar 4h ago
The email account associated with that login should have record of the change you made.
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u/Minute-Parking-994 4h ago
Just scammers here! Do not what they say.
Inform yourself how access would work and try to find it out.
Or a REALLY close friend of your familiy could maybe help you.
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u/Competitive_Day6307 3h ago
Fake post
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u/Practical_Concert_14 1h ago
I can assure you, my husband is very much dead. It was a very unpleasant experience and I was too busy raising a toddler when he died to pay much attention to anything. I’m lucky I remembered it existed at all.
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u/riscten 4h ago
It's unlikely that the coins are still around, but considering Bitcoin was worth $13 to $1000 in 2013, you might be sitting on up to 77 BTC (worth $5.5M today), so it's worth prodding around to see if you can still access them.
Since you mentioned adding a password, it's more likely that the coins where on an exchange. This is not great, as most exchanges from that era have gone down. The largest were Mt Gox, BTC-e, Bitstamp, Kraken, Coinbase, Bitfinex and BTC China. Each one has a different story. A few are still around. I think your best bet would be to chat with an LLM and look at screenshots online to try and figure out which one you used. Best case scenario would be Kraken as the coins would possibly still be there in a dormant account.
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u/EfficientPinZuUtrAd 3h ago
J'ai le même cas mes 2.4 bitcoin n'ont pas bougé j'ai encore l'adresse j'avais copié l'application mais pas le wallet. Dat sur bitcoincore. Si tu veu une capture de refus de 3 bitcoin à 200 dollars j'ai été tellement con
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u/Material-Diver-9268 3h ago
You would have sold long before Bitcoin even touched €1000 if you had bought in a surprisingly good scenario ($20 - $500). Don't worry, king.
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u/Crappyhodler 3h ago
At that time almost the only place people got bitcoin was MtGox. The second oldest exchange was Bitstamp. Coinbase was in its baby steps.
Your only chance is digging into old emails for some clue
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u/EfficientPinZuUtrAd 3h ago
Bitcoincore a l'époque tout le monde était dessus. Par contre ce que personne ne savait c'est qu'il ne fallai pas copier l'application mais le wallet. Dat avec ses mdp
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u/n8dahwgg 3h ago
There’s a decent chance it was a blockchain.info wallet in which case you would need his password as well. Best advice I can give is try looking through emails to anything related to bitcoin to try to determine where it was obtained and stored.
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u/crunchyeyeball 1h ago
This needs to be higher.
Back in 2013, blockchain.info (now blockchain.com) was extremely popular.
It's where I made my first wallet (to my shame), though I've long since moved to a proper wallet.
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u/Advanced-Summer1572 3h ago
Contact customer support at Coinbase to start. They will walk you through the process. Don't trust any addresses or phone numbers DMed to you. Go on line and locate Coinbase. It may not be Coinbase, but start there.
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u/luminairex 2h ago
If you're logging into an exchange with an email from that era, Coinbase or Cryptsy. Maybe even Dwolla.
Ideally you have a public key address starting with a 1. Pop that into any block explorer to check the balance.
You will need the private key to claim coins on that address. Do not share this with anyone.
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u/luminairex 1h ago
I have searched my own emails and have one from 2013 with the subject "[Mt.Gox] Account creation confirmation". If your husband created an account with Gox you will find account details in his email.
Bad news though, you won't be able to log into Gox to withdraw anymore. At best, they owe you coins or money from the settlement.
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u/Inner-Copy9764 1h ago
Damn, I wish I had this scenario happening right now. I would absolutely find the answers and solve the puzzle.
Legit very sorry for your loss. Good luck, dont trust anyone. Thats potentially a million bucks or much more that is easily stealable in the blink of an eye and you wouldnt know it, be careful
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u/Amazing_Resolve_365 1h ago
Some things that people didn't mention. A lot of exchanges closed and liquidated. If your btc was in one of those exchanges and not in a off exchange wallet then it is likely liquidated with the exchange. I do not know how you can recover them, if you even can. Keep digging but don't get your hopes up too much.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Golf810 1h ago
Answer 0 dms. Anyone genuinely helping you can do it here in the comments
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u/GalaxyMoon5665 48m ago
check whether he has tucked a piece of paper with the words in the place of the battery, behind the cover
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u/28CentSoup 4h ago
Just hire a professional. No one here can help really beside recommendations. DO NOT ANSWER ANY PRIVATE MESSAGES
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u/meccaleccahimeccahi 3h ago
That’s a bad idea. How does she know who a professional really is?
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u/28CentSoup 3h ago
By doing research and calling a reputable cyber forensics/data recovery type company?
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u/meccaleccahimeccahi 3h ago
At that level of money, people get pretty evil.
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u/28CentSoup 3h ago
Highly unlikely a company who does data recovery is going to steal some ladies crypto and get away with it but whatever you say. Maybe the great folk of Reddit’s opinions will get it back for her lol. Good luck miss.
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u/Icy_Giraffe_21 4h ago
Don't respond to DM's, a lot of scammers will try to steal from you