A British man who had effectively written off his Bitcoin investment more than a decade ago recovered cryptocurrency now worth roughly £3.3 million ($4.4 million). This means that a £1,500 bet made in Bitcoin's early years turned into a multi-million-pound fortune. The man, identified only as Chris, bought Bitcoin in 2011 after a friend convinced him the cryptocurrency would become a ”massive thing.” He purchased the coins through Intersango, one of Britain's earliest Bitcoin exchanges, when BTC was worth just a few pounds. However, Intersango ran into difficulties and eventually went offline in 2014. Chris discovered his account had been frozen when he tried to withdraw his Bitcoin, which was already worth around £4,000 at the time. With the platform not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), his options for recovering the assets were very limited. Lost Bitcoin Returns 12 Years Later Chris eventually assumed the money was gone, despite watching Bitcoin's value explode over the following decade. Earlier this year, his wife persuaded him to approach CEL Solicitors, which specializes in cryptocurrency recovery cases. Lawyers gathered documentation proving his ownership and after negotiations and legal work involving US courts, the Bitcoin was finally returned. The story could have implications for other former Intersango customers. Ryan Sweetnam, Director of Financial Litigation at CEL Solicitors, told LBC that litigation involving the exchange's founders included allegations that one founder holds around 5,500 BTC, potentially worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Sweetnam believes at least some of those assets could belong to former customers. Bitcoin's Rally Makes Recovery Even More Remarkable Chris regained his holdings during another strong period for Bitcoin. BTC recently traded around $79,120 after gaining approximately 24% during August. Bitcoin briefly reached $81,455 on Aug. 28, which was its highest level since May 15. BTC’s price action over the past month (Source: CoinCodex) Chris plans to sell part of his Bitcoin to buy a larger home that can better accommodate his mother-in-law. He will also be keeping some of his newly recovered fortune invested in crypto.
