UK investor recovers lost BTC after 14 years as $2K grows to $4.5M

A UK investor who had believed Bitcoin was lost after an exchange shut down in 2012 has recovered the assets around 14 years later by proving ownership, CoinDesk reported. The original investment of about $2,000 has grown to roughly $4.5 million. CoinDesk said the investor, known by the pseudonym Chris, bought about $2,000 worth of BTC through UK crypto exchange Britcoin in December 2011. Britcoin later became Intersango, which halted trading in late 2012 and shut down in early 2014. UK law firm CEL Solicitors said it identified wallets believed to be linked to former Intersango users using crypto-tracing software, with more than 5,500 BTC, currently worth about $421 million, held in those wallets. Chris bought the BTC at under $4 per coin, and the recovered assets are now valued at about $4.5 million, according to the report. CEL Solicitors added other former Intersango customers could also be able to recover assets if they can prove past BTC purchases and holdings.