A UK investor has recovered bitcoin he believed was lost when an exchange closed in 2012, nearly 14 years later. An investment worth about $2,000 at the time has grown to approximately $4.5 million.
According to CoinDesk, the investor, identified by the pseudonym “Chris,” first purchased bitcoin through the UK exchange Britcoin in December 2011. Britcoin later transitioned to Intersango, which halted trading at the end of 2012 and went completely offline in early 2014.
Chris’s initial investment was about £1,500, equivalent to approximately $2,000 at the time. CEL Solicitors used tracking software from its sister company, The Crypto Tracing Experts, to identify a wallet believed to be associated with the assets of former Intersango users. The wallet was found to hold more than 5,500 BTC, worth approximately $421 million.
According to CEL Solicitors, BTC was priced at less than $4 per coin when Chris purchased it, while the recovered assets are now worth approximately $4.5 million. The law firm said that other Intersango users may also be able to recover their assets if they can prove that they purchased and held them at the time.
Sources
- CoinDesk — British investor thought he lost $2,000 in bitcoin in 2012. He just recovered $4.5 million
- CEL Solicitors — How We Recovered Over £3 Million in Lost Bitcoin From Defunct UK Exchange Intersango — 2026-06-09