Key Takeaways
- A Bitcoin wallet inactive for almost a decade was successfully accessed by Irish authorities and Europol
- Approximately $35 million in 500 BTC was transferred to Coinbase on March 24, 2026
- The funds belonged to Clifton Collins, a convicted cannabis cultivator who concealed his private keys inside a fishing rod case
- Private keys were believed permanently lost when Collins’ possessions were discarded to a landfill after his 2017 detention
- Authorities are optimistic the same technique can access 11 additional wallets valued at more than €330 million
The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of Ireland, working alongside Europol, has managed to penetrate a Bitcoin wallet that remained untouched for approximately ten years. The 500 BTC stored within, currently valued at roughly $35 million, was moved on March 24 before being deposited into Coinbase.
The cryptocurrency belonged to Clifton Collins, a Dublin resident found guilty of operating cannabis growing facilities throughout several Irish regions for more than ten years. Prior to his criminal enterprise, Collins maintained employment as both a security guard and beekeeper.
Between 2011 and 2012, Collins acquired 6,000 Bitcoin during a period when cryptocurrency prices remained in the single digits. He financed these purchases using profits generated from his cannabis operations.
Collins distributed his 6,000 BTC holdings evenly among 12 separate wallets, allocating 500 BTC to each. He documented the private keys on a single piece of paper, which he then concealed within a fishing rod case at his leased residence in Galway.
Authorities apprehended Collins in 2017 following the discovery of cannabis during a standard traffic checkpoint. Subsequently, his landlord emptied the rental property and disposed of Collins’ possessions at a landfill facility.
The fishing rod case — containing the sole copy of the private keys — was presumably destroyed in the process. Collins later indicated that a burglary at the residence might have also contributed to their disappearance.
In 2020, an Irish High Court mandated the seizure of the Bitcoin holdings. The 6,000 BTC was valued at approximately €53 million at that time. Today, the same amount is worth roughly €360 million.
Despite the judicial ruling, CAB lacked any means to retrieve the cryptocurrency without the private keys. Both law enforcement and Collins assumed the Bitcoin had been irretrievably lost.
The Method Behind the Breakthrough
CAB and Europol have not revealed the precise methodology used to access the wallet. Europol indicated only that it supplied “highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources.”
One hypothesis suggests Collins may have saved his keys in an encrypted document secured with an inadequate password, which investigators potentially compromised using brute force methods.
An alternative explanation involves Collins utilizing a defective tool for generating his 12 key pairs. A compromised random number generator could yield predictable keys, enabling investigators to recreate them.
Authorities reportedly express confidence that the identical approach will work on the other 11 wallets.
Remaining Cryptocurrency Holdings
Collins retains possession of 5,500 Bitcoin, currently valued at approximately $389 million based on Arkham intelligence.
Should CAB successfully access all remaining wallets through the same technique, the complete 6,000 BTC recovery would represent the largest individual asset confiscation in the organization’s operational history.
The 500 BTC transaction on March 24 represents the first verified access to any of Collins’ cryptocurrency wallets since his apprehension nine years prior.
