In a remarkable story of recovery and perseverance, two researchers have successfully helped a man retrieve the lost password to his cryptocurrency wallet, unlocking 43.6 BTC valued at nearly $2.96 million. The effort, spearheaded by hardware hacker Joe Grand, involved exploiting a long-fixed vulnerability in a popular password generator used back in 2013.

The man, referred to as Michael, had created his cryptocurrency wallet in 2013 using RoboForm to generate a unique 20-character password. However, due to security concerns, he chose to store this password in an encrypted file rather than with RoboForm itself. Unfortunately, when this encrypted file became corrupted, Michael lost access to his substantial bitcoin holdings.

In a bid to recover his lost fortune, Michael reached out to Joe Grand in 2022. Grand, known for his previous success in recovering lost bitcoin from a Trezor wallet, enlisted the help of his friend Bruno to tackle the challenge. The pair discovered that RoboForm's "random number" generator had a vulnerability that linked password creation to the specific date and time on the user's computer—a bug that had been fixed in 2015 but would have impacted passwords generated before then.

Although Michael did not recall the exact date when he created his password, he had moved bitcoin into his wallet on April 13, 2013. Using this information, the researchers tested various time-based parameters until they successfully identified the correct password, which had been created on May 15, 2013.

Their success resulted in the recovery of 43.6 BTC, a portion of which was given to Grand and Bruno as a reward for their efforts. Michael sold a small amount of bitcoin, retaining 30 BTC, which is worth around $2 million. He shared with Wired that he plans to hold onto his bitcoin until the value of a single token reaches $100,000. Reflecting on his ordeal, Michael expressed relief that he had lost access to his wallet, as it inadvertently led to his tokens appreciating significantly over time.

As of May 28, bitcoin traded at $67,840, experiencing a 3.26% dip over the past day, according to The Block Prices. Michael’s story highlights not only the potential of cryptocurrency investments but also the importance of secure and reliable password management.