What Are Cryptohunters?
Cryptohunters are individuals or businesses that hunt for lost or stolen cryptocurrency. They may also help with recovering forgotten passwords and lost private keys.
Key Takeaways
- Cryptohunters are individuals or businesses that help recover lost or stolen cryptocurrency.
- These experts use various tactics, including supercomputers and such practices as hypnotherapy.
- Cryptocurrency is a key target for hackers and thieves, especially given its rise in value since its introduction.
- The most common issue that leads to lost cryptocurrency is the individual holder losing access to their cryptocurrency wallets or vaults.
What Cryptohunters Do
Cryptohunters work with both cryptocurrency holders and law enforcement agencies to search and recover misplaced, inaccessible, or stolen cryptocurrencies. These individuals or entities are experts in recovering or breaking into digital wallets. They may use modern supercomputers to crack passwords or even mental practices such as hypnotherapy on wallet holders to help them remember forgotten passwords.
Cryptohunters offering their services online typically seek basic details, such as the last remembered private key and other possible details that individuals may use in creating their passwords or phrases for private keys (such as birthdays, pet names, etc.).
Cryptohunters then run these basic data points through their self-designed computer programs and try to create hundreds and thousands of possible combinations, which are then used one at a time to try and open a wallet.
It is nearly impossible to guess or recover lost private keys, even with computers. It would take years using modern hardware and software to brute-force crack them (brute-force cracking uses randomly generated values in a trial-and-error approach until finding the correct one). One private key has a possible 1077 values (one followed by 77 zeros)—for comparison, there are an estimated maximum of 1080 atoms in the visible universe—and you could have several private keys.
Types of Cryptohunters
Some cryptohunters are companies that specialize in recovering passwords or corrupted wallets using specialized software to generate millions of potential passwords. Some data recovery services even use the same hacking schemes hackers use to steal Bitcoin.
Others might use data recovery services to search for and access passwords stored in text files. These services tend to charge a flat fee, have a solid success rate, and only take a few days.
It’s not only tech-savvy computer programmers who are in the game. The marketplace also has a significant presence of so-called “cryptohypnotists,” who offer their mind-management services claiming to recover passwords by unlocking the subconscious minds of the individual through techniques like hypnotherapy. Essentially, they attempt to help the holder mentally recover where and what they may have written down as their passwords.
Cryptohunters also offer their services to track the trails of cryptocurrency thefts and scams. They work with law agencies to identify where the stolen coins may have been transferred, and such information can be vital for identifying the thieves.
The one key way cryptohunters can help find stolen cryptocurrency is if the thieves attempt to cash out or use the cryptocurrency for purchases. These activities can be tracked to retailers with customer information or physical locations with cameras.
Cryptohunter Costs
Most cryptohunting services charge in cryptocurrency, usually a percentage of the balance recovered. Prices vary, and depending upon the success rate of recovery, many of these services can take months.
On the other hand, computer-based recovery service providers and cryptohypnotists may also charge an upfront fixed cost plus a percentage of the recovered amount. Cryptohypnotists might also charge a set amount on a per-session basis, depending on how many hours and sessions the individual takes to recover the lost details.
20%
The percentage of Bitcoin in circulation that is either locked or lost in wallets.
Special Considerations
The most common issue that leads to lost cryptocurrency is the individual holder losing access to their cryptocurrency wallets or vaults. The digital assets in such wallets are kept secure using a unique private key, a long string of alphanumeric characters.
Since cryptocurrencies and wallets work in a decentralized ecosystem, no central authority or service provider can reset or re-issue the key to the original crypto holders. It remains the sole responsibility of the individual to keep the private key safe and accessible only to them. Many individuals forget or misplace this private key, rendering their cryptocurrency inaccessible.
Other cases of lost digital coins are attributed to the increasing number of scams, hacks, and thefts.
Can You Hire Someone to Trade Crypto for You?
There are plenty of people who claim to be able to trade for you, but you should exercise caution when considering their services because it's difficult to find out whether they are capable and trustworthy.
Are There Any Real Crypto Recovery Companies?
There appear to be many cryptocurrency recovery companies, but cryptocurrency cannot be recovered if your private keys are stolen. The only way cryptocurrency can be recovered is if the perpetrator transfers it back to you or to an entity that gives it back. If passwords or passphrases are lost or forgotten, these services might be able to help you, but there are no guarantees.
Can You Recover Crypto From a Scammer?
If the scammer is caught and gives up the information needed to access their accounts and any cryptocurrency they have stolen, then yes. If not, there is no way to get your cryptocurrency back unless you can convince the scammer to return it.
The Bottom Line
Cryptohunters are entities that provide recovery services for lost cryptocurrency wallet passwords. Some may be able to help you remember where you may have placed your private keys if you've lost them through hypnosis or other memory recovery techniques. They might even be able to trace transactions via a blockchain to learn where stolen cryptocurrencies ended up.
Before enlisting the help of a cryptohunter, make sure you thoroughly investigate them. There are many scammers claiming that they can help you recover lost or stolen cryptocurrency—but it's important to remember that stolen cryptocurrency cannot be recovered unless the thieves decide to cooperate and return it. They can only try to help you with your passwords or find the wallet addresses of the thieves—transactions on a blockchain cannot be reversed once they are initiated.
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