A crypto user known as Cprkrn turned to Anthropic’s Claude AI to recover 5 Bitcoin from a wallet untouched for over ten years. The cache, valued at roughly $397,000 when Bitcoin traded near $79,410, was locked in an old Blockchain.com wallet since 2015.
According to Cprkrn’s X posts, the user had exhausted traditional recovery methods, including trillions of password attempts, before turning to AI. By feeding old hard drive files into Claude, the AI identified a command fix for btcrecover—a wallet recovery tool—and helped decrypt private keys tied to the address. The breakthrough allowed the user to sweep the funds on May 13.
While Cprkrn described Claude as having ‘cracked’ the case, experts note that the AI assisted in file searching and workflow optimization, not in breaking Bitcoin’s encryption. This distinction is crucial because Bitcoin’s security relies on private keys; if lost, coins remain onchain but unspendable. Ledger’s 2025 guide estimates 2.3-3.7 million BTC are permanently lost due to similar issues.
The incident also sparked security warnings. Uploading wallet files to AI platforms can expose sensitive data, including private keys. Past reports have highlighted phishing attacks targeting wallet users, emphasizing that sharing seed phrases or private keys online—even with AI—carries significant risk. While Claude’s role in this recovery was beneficial, it underscores the balance between leveraging AI for recovery and maintaining security best practices.