I. Introduction

You read that right, it's not a clickbait title, it's a real event. Successful recovery on September 4, 2024.

I originally didn't want to talk about this matter so publicly. A few friends guessed it was me who did the recovery, but I didn't admit it. However, now I feel there's nothing wrong with it; it's something worth celebrating and commemorating, so I wrote this article to commemorate it.

The client is a foreigner who purchased a Trezor hardware wallet in 2016, established a private account, set a high-level password, and stored 1350 BTC in it.

In 2019, the client forgot the password and started looking for someone to recover it. Someone had helped him input the password through the Trezor development kit interface using electronic keys, but the recovery speed was extremely slow. After running for half a year, he ultimately gave up.

II. Taking Orders

In early July 2024, the client found me through the introducer, and we quickly agreed on a price. We immediately determined the recovery plan, which required disassembling the machine to read the chip data. Therefore, we purchased many Trezor wallet recovery-related chips, devices, and tools from Singapore and domestically, and also bought 10 Trezors for practice.

Although I had some understanding of chip soldering technology beforehand, opportunities to practice were limited, and there was a significant gap between theory and practice. Therefore, we put in a lot of effort to learn soldering. After half a month of day and night practice, we became proficient in using a series of devices and tools such as soldering guns, heat guns, embedded boards, oscilloscopes, chip programmers, chip burners, and programmable transformers. We also practiced soldering chips using some useless boards, and our soldering skills improved enough for our needs.

We also practiced chip recovery, knowing the principles and processes, but we were still not skilled enough in practice. Therefore, we purchased relevant chips, devices, and tools to supplement our knowledge of voltage and circuits, created and soldered cracking circuits, conducted countless experiments, and finally became proficient in reading data from Trezor chips.

After reading the data from the chip, we had to decrypt the data and work on password recovery, which took us two weeks of technical research to write the data decryption program and the final password recovery program, and we optimized the GPU recovery algorithm, greatly improving recovery efficiency.

At the end of July, the introducer brought over two Trezors of the same model for testing. The PIN code, password, and mnemonic phrase set by the introducer were not disclosed to us. We spent 2-3 days reading the data and successfully recovered the password based on the clues provided by the introducer, giving the client hope for success.

In mid-August, the client set up a Trezor of the same model, including the PIN code, password, and mnemonic phrase, without the introducer knowing the content, only knowing the password clues. The client asked the introducer to bring this Trezor for recovery. This time, we only needed 3-4 hours to successfully read the data and recover the password, thus the client was completely reassured about our technology.

III. Recovery

At the beginning of September, based on our negotiation with the client, we brought all the equipment and checked into a hotel with the client and introducer to sign the contract before starting the recovery. Within 3 hours of getting the wallet, we accurately obtained the chip data. After decrypting the data, we used the GPU recovery program we had written and, based on the password clues provided by the client, we used all our computing power to start the password recovery.

After 24 hours, we adjusted the password generation strategy multiple times, but there was no result, and everyone's mood became very anxious. If we couldn't recover it on the third day, the client was prepared to leave, and we were ready to switch hotels to continue recovery. If we couldn't get it out within half a month, we would give up cooperation.

On the second and third days, we repeatedly sorted through the password clues with the client and introducer. During breakfast on the third day, we once again discussed the password clues, refined some changes, and continued running. After 1-2 hours of running these clues, we hit a deadlock. The client went back to sleep while we continued searching for clues with the introducer. I felt that the client's clues might have many extras and could be simplified. I immediately rewrote the simplified password generation program and ran it with computing power. A few minutes later, the password came out!!!

We shared the good news with the introducer, who was ecstatic, even kneeling on the bed to thank us. He then called the client, who was sleeping, and after confirming the matter multiple times, he was also overjoyed. After 8 years of waiting, there was finally a happy ending. The recovery was successful, and everyone became financially free! The client, in particular, bought the coins in February 2016 at a price of $375, which had now risen to $58,000, a 155-fold increase, making a fortune.

In addition, among the introducers, there are also two friends from the country, one of whom is a big figure in the coin circle, and the other is a well-known lawyer, but he is unwilling to be exposed. We informed both of them at the time, and everyone was very excited.

What follows is simple. According to the contract, we distributed the corresponding amount of Bitcoin to the clients, introducers, and ourselves, and then everyone said goodbye. The other altcoins were distributed according to the agreed ratio that same night. Thus, this case was successfully concluded.

IV. Insights

Looking back on the case, we spent a month and a half researching technology, writing code, and recovering chips, going from unskilled to skilled. This was a process that tested the patience and learning ability of technical personnel. With this foundation, we gained a lot of experience in hardware wallet recovery afterward.

Throughout the process, the most exciting moment for me was not recovering the password, but when the client handed the wallet to me, my hands were shaking. This is a large wallet with 1350 Bitcoins, and the trust the client placed in me to recover it is immense.

Because the recovery method carries a bit of uncertainty, even though we have been successful over 10 consecutive times and have signed a waiver contract, I still worry that something unexpected might happen, causing such a large amount of funds to disappear, which would trouble my conscience.

During the time we started recovering the chip data, my blood pressure was consistently high. At that time, I measured it with a watch: 160/110. I have stage 1 hypertension, and although I take antihypertensive medication every day, I can't get too excited. This value has already reached stage 2 hypertension. After another 1-2 hours, my blood pressure gradually came down, so that during the password recovery, my blood pressure didn't change much.

However, after this case, wallets with less than this amount will no longer excite me. The coin circle strengthens your heart; this is also a test of life.

Because of this case, I spent 12-14 hours a day in front of the computer for a month and a half, with intense learning and mental strain. At the time, I didn't feel any discomfort in my body.

But after this case ended, I relaxed, and my coccyx ached for 1-2 months. I used a lot of ointment to gradually alleviate it; this is the price paid for success, but it was worth it.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, and everything went smoothly.

V. Epilogue

I entered the ATR National Defense Key Laboratory at Shenzhen University to pursue a PhD in cryptography in 2011, began studying blockchain in depth in 2013, and started wallet recovery in 2019, accumulating ample technical experience.

At the end of 2020, we invested millions to purchase dozens of 8-card 3080 and 3090 servers, focusing solely on password recovery.

By the end of 2024, we invested 15 million to purchase dozens of 8-card 4090 servers, as well as dozens of other models dedicated to password recovery, not for AI computing or mining, only for password recovery.

Password cracking speeds can reach billions, hundreds of billions, or even trillions per second depending on the wallet.

With such determination and actions, our team should be the only one in the country. Because during the password recovery, it involves uploading a considerable amount of client confidential information to the server.

If it weren't for our own computing power, the client's confidential information could easily be obtained by others, making it unsafe for the client; this is the reason we purchased our own computing power.

So far, we have successfully helped recover dozens of wallets, and the amount of assets recovered is a huge number.

Being responsible to our clients and keeping our promises has always been our principle. The funds are delivered to the clients as agreed after successful recovery, without missing a single cent, without exception.

Just like the An Network SAFE project we started in 2014, it has continued for 11 years until today.

The money I earned from trading coins in the early days supported An Network SAFE for nearly 7 years; the money earned from wallet recovery has supported An Network SAFE for nearly 4 years.

As a responsible OG, starting a project or business is like using one's entire reputation to endorse it; we have never given up.

Now that SAFE4 is about to launch, we believe that SAFE will perform even better, just like wallet recovery.

Reliable people are reliable in whatever they do, whether it's wallet recovery or the SAFE project; we will continue to do well in both.