Bitcoin
Portfolio Recovery Firms Shake Up as Locked-In Crypto Investors Panic Over Bitcoin Boom
By Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian
(Reuters) – The recent surge in bitcoin prices has left crypto wallet recovery companies’ phones off the hook as retail investors locked out of their digital vaults make frantic calls to regain access to their accounts.
Cryptocurrencies exist on a decentralized digital ledger known as a blockchain, and investors can choose to access their assets through a locally stored software wallet or a hardware wallet to avoid risks associated with holding cryptocurrencies on an exchange, such as in the case of the old FTX.
Losing access to a crypto wallet is a well-known problem. Investors forgetting their complex passwords are the main reason, but loss of access to two-factor authentication devices, unexpected cryptocurrency exchange closures, and cyberattacks are also common.
Wallet passwords are usually alphanumeric and the wallet provider also offers a set of random words, known as “seed phrases”, for additional security – both of which are known only to the user. If investors lose passwords and phrases, access to their wallets will be cut off.
With bitcoin prices regaining strength since last October and reaching a record high of $73,803.25 in March, investors appear to be suffering from a classic case of FOMO, or fear of missing out.
Reuters spoke to nearly a dozen retail investors who lost access to their crypto wallets. Six of them contacted a recovery services company and were able to regain access to their assets.
“What would be driving this trend is the fact that bitcoin prices are at $60,000 and not $30,000…it’s just pure economics,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.
“People who are losing their cryptocurrencies for one reason or another, or those who do not have access to their cryptocurrencies, are highly encouraged to get them back.”
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has risen 161% over the past two quarters on hopes of an interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve and optimism surrounding the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
BOOM IN RECOVERY ORDERS
A Switzerland-based company that uses Nvidia graphics processing unit cards to run artificial intelligence models to access idle wallets saw requests increase tenfold in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago.
“We have seen an increase (in requests to unlock wallets) whenever the price changes drastically,” said a senior company executive who declined to be named.
ReWallet, a Germany-based provider of wallet recovery services, saw a 334% jump in requests in the previous quarter and saw a record number of requests in early March when bitcoin prices reached an all-time high.
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The company estimates that about 20% of the total 19 million bitcoins in circulation as of March 13 are likely inactive and are now worth about $237 billion.
US-based wallet recovery services saw a 30% increase in requests this year in mid-April.
Recovery services provided by companies are not cheap. ReWallet and WRS charge a 20% fee on the contents of the wallets, with the caveat that they will only be paid at the time of recovery.
ATTEMPTS TO RECOVER INVESTOR PORTFOLIO
“I was simply worried that I would no longer have access (to my wallet) and thus lose my bitcoins forever,” said an investor living in Germany, who declined to be named. “Of course, the high price of bitcoin was an incentive to finally resolve this.”
Another Swiss-based investor, who also requested anonymity, said: “I had protected the wallet with passwords and couldn’t remember it. I tried several times and created several lists with possible alternatives, but unfortunately without success.”
Recounting ReWallet’s recovery of his bitcoin holdings, now worth more than $300,000, he said: “It was an indescribably great feeling. I’m retiring in a year and a half and now feel financially well-positioned.”
Speaking about investors’ difficulties, Ralf Wintergerst, chief executive of German security technology company Giesecke+Devrient, said: “Looking ahead, there is a growing trend towards solutions that mitigate the main management problem inherent in self-custody.” “This could entail the use of multi-signature wallets or other decentralized recovery mechanisms to distribute liability and increase security.”
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)