CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • עברית
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • CryptoPotato Crypto Fund
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • עברית
  • bitcoin
    BTC$27,100.00
  • ethereum
    ETH$1,895.49
    • Market Updates
    • BTC Analysis
    • ETH Analysis
    • XRP Analysis
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
    CryptoPotato
    CryptoPotato
    • Crypto News
    • Margin Trading
    • Guides
      • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
      • Bitcoin For Beginners
      • Editorials
    • DeFi & NFT
    • Buy
    • Language
      • עברית
    • Crypto News
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
    • Editorials
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
    • DeFi & NFT News
    • Bitcoin Price Analysis
    • CryptoPotato Crypto Fund
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
    • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
    • Market Updates
    • Interviews
    • Buy Bitcoin with Card
    • עברית
    Home » Crypto News » Lucky Day: Discovered $50,000 In a Bitcoin Donations Wallet From 2012, Now Looking To Donate It

    Lucky Day: Discovered $50,000 In a Bitcoin Donations Wallet From 2012, Now Looking To Donate It

    Author: Guy Armoni

    Last Updated Nov 25, 2019 @ 14:17

    Like gold bullion that drowned in the sea, Bitcoin wallets too can disappear into the depths of the digital sea. Of the 21 million total Bitcoins, nearly 18 million have already been mined. However, not all of them are accessible, and according to certain estimations, several million are already lost forever.

    Interestingly, there have been incidents when lost Bitcoin has been found by its owner. Ron Gross recently described such a case. Gross is a well-known figure from the Bitcoin community who was also the founder of Mastercoin, one of the first Altcoins.

    “In those days of 2012, the discussions around Bitcoin were not as widespread as they are today and were mainly conducted on the BitcoinTalk forums.  At one point someone just offered a Bitcoin grant to be paid for someone who would implement a project to improve the currency’s scalability, ” Gross told CryptoPotato.

    Gross liked the idea and quickly opened a wallet for Bitcoin donations for implementing a project with the promising name of Blockchain Pruning.

    These were the early days of Bitcoin, before the Electrum wallet and any hardware wallets, so Gross had opened the Bitcoin wallet through the infamous Blockchain.info. The donations accumulated amounted to a total of 5.725 Bitcoin, whose current value is approximately $50,000.

    Back in 2012, the price of Bitcoin was much lower than its current value, and since the project did not come to fruition, the coins were just forgotten in the wallet over the years.

    Who wants a $ 50,000 donation?

    However, the taxation of crypto has awoken the wallet from its long sleep. The need to report crypto transactions forced Ron to dig deep into his crypto history in an attempt to trace his full activity, and after seven years, he discovered this lost donation wallet.

    bitcointalk_rongross-min2-min
    The recent Bitcointalk message by Gross

    The wallets on Blockchain.info are associated under the Hybrid wallets category, where access to the wallet is made via the web. The private keys are encrypted and stored on a central server, and access to the wallet is only made possible via a password.  Although Gross knew the password, he could not access the wallet due to changes made over the years, and only after contacting Blockchain.info’s customer service, did he successfully retrieve access to the funds.

    Since that time, Gross has been wondering what to do with the funds he raised. “Since it has been a long time, I will wait for the relevant people to respond, and if there is no substantial interest in the next two weeks, the funds will be donated to a relevant project in the field of improving the performance of  Bitcoin,” stated Gross.

    Study: About 20% of Bitcoin is lost

    Unlike Gross’ case, not all lost wallets are destined to be found. A recent study found out that the total number of lost Bitcoins range from 2.78 to 3.79 million, which is roughly 15-20% of the total Bitcoin in circulation. Among the lost coins are Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallets, which contain around one million Bitcoins, according to various estimations.

    In conclusion, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is controlled by the holder of the wallet’s private keys, and as such, it requires a high level of responsibility. James Wallace was miserable to lose the private keys to his wallets containing around 7,500 Bitcoins, which is approximately 60 million dollars as of writing this post.

    SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
    Binance Free $100 (Exclusive): Use this link to register and receive $100 free and 10% off fees on Binance Futures first month (terms).

    PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to register & enter CRYPTOPOTATO50 code to receive up to $7,000 on your deposits.

    Tags: Bitcoin
    Enjoy reading? Share with your friends
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram

    About The Author

    Guy Armoni
    More posts by this author

    Crypto enthusiastic analyst. Holds a BA in Social Science and an MA in Neuroscience. Had left all his business since reading Satoshi's whitepaper. Contact Guy: LinkedIn

  • bitcoin
    BTC$27,100.00
  • ethereum
    ETH$1,895.49
  • Join Our Community

    FacebookTwitter YouTubeTelegram


    Editorials
    The Weaknesses of Ethereum VS Modern Blockchains: Interview With Radix

    The Weaknesses of Ethereum VS Modern Blockchains: Interview With Radix

    Institutions Intend to Buy Bitcoin in Late 2023: Interview With CryptoQuant

    Institutions Intend to Buy Bitcoin in Late 2023: Interview With CryptoQuant

    Why Didn’t ETH Dump After Shanghai? Interview With Nansen

    Why Didn’t ETH Dump After Shanghai? Interview With Nansen

    What is PEPE Coin? Is This the Next Huge Memecoin?

    What is PEPE Coin? Is This the Next Huge Memecoin?

    What is the Ethereum Shanghai (Shapella) Upgrade? Everything You Need to Know

    What is the Ethereum Shanghai (Shapella) Upgrade? Everything You Need to Know

    15 Months Later, What Changed Since November 2021? Interview With Phantom Wallet CEO

    15 Months Later, What Changed Since November 2021? Interview With Phantom Wallet CEO

    Artificial Intelligence & Crypto Guide: Here Are the Top 5 AI Coins

    Artificial Intelligence & Crypto Guide: Here Are the Top 5 AI Coins

    Join Our Newsletter
    Become a CryptoPotato VIP
    One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.
    Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report
    We NEVER send spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.
    Invalid email address
    Thanks for subscribing!
    Footer Logo
    About
    Advertise on CryptoPotato
    About Us | Contact Us | Careers
    Editorial Policy
    Terms of service | Privacy Policy | GDPR
    More Sections
    IEO List | Evaluations
    Airdrops
    Scholarship
    Disclaimer
    Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. Full disclaimer
    © Copyright CryptoPotato 2016 - 2021
    Scroll to top
    One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.

    Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report

    We never send SPAM. You can unsubscribe at any moment
    Invalid email address
    Thanks for subscribing!