A British Bitcoin investor recovered cryptocurrency valued at $4.5 million after losing access to his holdings for more than a decade. The investor, identified as Chris, purchased Bitcoin for approximately £1,500 in 2011 when the asset traded below $4 per coin. He believed the funds were permanently unrecoverable after Intersango, an early UK exchange, shut down.
Intersango, which launched in 2011 under the name Britcoin, served UK customers during Bitcoin's nascent period. Its collapse left users without clear avenues to access their assets. CEL Solicitors, a legal firm specializing in crypto tracing, identified a wallet containing more than 5,500 BTC linked to former Intersango users and helped Chris regain access.
In a separate recovery, another former Intersango customer regained 61 Bitcoin purchased in 2011 for approximately £2.94 each—valued at over £3 million at settlement.
Ryan Sweetnam, Director of Financial Litigation at CEL Solicitors, said the recoveries hinged on documentation. "Bank records and original account information serve as essential evidence when attempting to establish a verifiable connection between a claimant and their initial exchange balance," Sweetnam said.
Early cryptocurrency exchanges operated with less stringent record-keeping than modern platforms, complicating ownership claims. Successful recovery requires robust historical evidence proving a direct link to original exchange holdings. CEL Solicitors indicated that other former Intersango users may hold valid claims against the traced Bitcoin, provided they can document their purchases.
