Losing a crypto wallet can be incredibly frustrating, especially if the wallet in question holds a large amount of crypto. But don't worry; losing or forgetting about a crypto wallet isn't where things end. You can take a few different steps to reclaim your lost cryptocurrency. Let's take a look at these methods.
1. Use a Recovery Service
If you've lost your crypto wallet or had your funds stolen, you can use a recovery service to try and reclaim those funds.
Take Crypto Asset Recovery, for example. This website gives you a chance of finding your lost crypto funds by providing your blockchain ID and your best guess as to what your wallet password would be. The service will then use this information and brute force your account to try and create the correct password.
Crypto Asset Recovery does clarify that there are scenarios where it cannot help you recover your wallet, including if you have no clue what your password could be or a password that exceeds 15 characters. In such cases, the service cannot guess your password via brute force due to the password strength.
Services like this are also known as crypto hunters, and other examples include Brute Brothers, KeychainX, and M2 Recovery.
You can also hire individual crypto hunters to track down your lost cryptocurrency. This may result in a more personalized and dedicated service, but verifying the legitimacy of a sole crypto hunter over an established platform can be harder.
You must only use legitimate and well-reviewed crypto recovery services, as you're handing over sensitive information that could be used to unlock your crypto. If you hand your wallet address and password guess to a shady site, the operators could use brute force to access your wallet and steal funds.
If you believe your cryptocurrency has been stolen or your funds have mysteriously disappeared from your wallet, it's wise to contact the police. If it is discovered that someone has taken your crypto without your permission, the police can launch an investigation to try and track down the perpetrator and recover your funds.
Most cryptocurrencies are traceable through transaction ledgers, which is how the authorities often recover crypto.
However, informing the police of a crypto theft won't always result in a successful investigation. Some crypto criminals are very sneaky and employ certain measures to ensure they evade law enforcement's detection. For instance, the thief may convert your stolen funds to a privacy coin like Monero to obscure further transaction information.
3. Contact Your Crypto Exchange
If you think you've got a lost crypto wallet, the cryptocurrency exchange itself may be able to help. For instance, the exchange may be able to confirm whether a withdrawal has taken place without your knowledge or if your funds are pending in a transaction you previously authorized.
This method is more convenient for those who use a single crypto exchange or keep track of which wallets they use on which exchanges. If you have no idea what exchange you used last time you traded with a specific wallet this avenue may not be worth pursuing.
4. Check Your Transaction History
You can also find out the previous journeys your crypto took by checking your transaction history, be it via an exchange or wallet app. Your lost crypto may be down to a case of a transaction slipping your memory, so your funds are in a different wallet than the one you'd think.
What's more, if someone has conducted an unauthorized withdrawal of crypto from your wallet to their own, you may be able to find the recipient's wallet address in your transaction history. If you find this information, you can inform your exchange, wallet provider, or the authorities so that further steps can be taken.
5. Use a Blockchain Explorer
Say you have your wallet address but don't know which asset it's used for or whether you've used it at all. Using a blockchain explorer can help answer these questions.
Blockchain explorers let you view the transaction history of a given wallet on public blockchains. You can also find other data, such as the first transaction date of the wallet or how many transactions the wallet has been involved in.
As you can see in the screenshot below, entering a valid crypto wallet address into a blockchain explorer allows you to view the entire transaction history associated with that particular wallet.
You can also view the wallet balance via a blockchain explorer.
By entering your wallet address (or blockchain ID), you can view your entire transaction history, so long as you're not using a privacy coin that hides sender or recipient addresses.
There are many free blockchain explorers out there, including:
- BlockChair
- BlockCypher
- Etherscan
- BlockExplorer
Of course, this is only an option if you know your wallet address or transaction ID. You can't use your seed phrase or private key to search for crypto transaction history via a blockchain explorer, as the information you provide needs to be public.
How to Avoid Losing Your Crypto
Forgetting about or losing track of cryptocurrency can be devastating, but there are some things you can do to avoid this.
As a preventative measure, you should always track which of your crypto wallets is holding different funds. This includes logging which wallets you have open and safely storing your wallet address, seed phrase, and private key. It's crucial that you store your private key and seed phrase very securely, using a trusted password manager, encrypted flash drive, or paper-based method.
Limiting the number of wallets or exchanges you use is also wise, as having too many can cause confusion and lead to losing track of certain assets. Some wallets don't support certain cryptos, so it's natural to have a few wallets under your belt if you want to trade more than one asset. But try not to sign up for new wallets unnecessarily, as this is an easy way to lose your crypto.
Your Crypto May Not Be Lost Forever
Discovering that you've lost track of a crypto holding may cause you to panic, but don't assume all is lost. Using the methods above, you may be able to recover your cryptocurrency, maybe even without having to pay a service.
