{"id":70151,"date":"2026-03-24T22:14:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/first-breakthrough-in-378-million-bitcoin-seizure-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T22:14:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:14:45","slug":"first-breakthrough-in-378-million-bitcoin-seizure-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/first-breakthrough-in-378-million-bitcoin-seizure-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"First Breakthrough in $378 Million Bitcoin Seizure \u2013 Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

From Fishing Rods to Riches: Ireland Recovers $32M in \u2018Lost\u2019 Bitcoin<\/span> from 2019 Case<\/h2>\n

On Tuesday, The Irish Times reported<\/a> that Irish investigators achieved a massive technical breakthrough by gaining access to a dormant wallet containing 500 BTC<\/a>, valued at roughly $32 million (\u20ac30 million). This single victory marks the first successful entry into a hoard of 6,000 bitcoin<\/a> seized from former beekeeper turned cannabis mogul Clifton Collins<\/a> back in 2019.<\/p>\n

For years, the CAB sat on a digital goldmine they simply couldn\u2019t touch. Collins, showing a penchant for old-school security, had diversified his illicit earnings across 12 different virtual addresses to protect his \u201choney\u201d from prying eyes.<\/p>\n

The story of how the keys were lost has become the stuff of crypto-legend. The Irish Independent also reported<\/a> on the CAB\u2019s success. Btcparser.com discovered<\/a> the 500 movement from a wallet first created in 2016. Collins reportedly printed his private keys<\/span> on an A4 piece of paper and stashed the document inside the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case at his rented County Galway property.<\/p>\n

The 500 BTC<\/span> transfer via mempool.space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luck ran out for the beekeeper in 2017 following a routine patrol arrest, and while he was cooling his heels, his landlord had the property cleared out. Reports say workers at a local dump recalled seeing discarded fishing gear, but the paper\u2014and the keys to a fortune\u2014were shipped off to Germany and China to be incinerated.<\/p>\n

The resulting lockout left both Collins and the Irish state staring at a screen they couldn\u2019t bypass for seven long years. During that time, the \u201clost\u201d coins did what bitcoin<\/a> has done over the years: they appreciated by 17,815% against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n

While the assets were worth a mere $9,000 per coin during the 2019 seizure, the current market climate has sent the total value of the 6,000 BTC<\/span> soaring to approximately $378 million (\u20ac360 million). It seems even dormant bitcoins can\u2019t help but grow in value while sitting in a landfill<\/a>-bound rod case.<\/p>\n

The recent breakthrough wasn\u2019t a stroke of luck, but a high-tech offensive supported by Europol<\/a>\u2019s European Cybercrime Centre. The agency provided the CAB with high-level technical expertise and decryption resources to finally bypass the security of the first wallet.<\/p>\n

\"Irish
The Clifton Collins wallet, according to Arkham data as of March 24, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With one of the 12 wallets now wide open, the Irish state has secured its first $32 million slice of the pie. Investigators are now optimistic that the same technological \u201cskeleton key\u201d used for this wallet can be applied to the remaining 11 addresses. Bitcoin.com<\/span> News discovered that the 500 BTC<\/span> transferred today was sent to Coinbase<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Should the CAB successfully drain the remaining 11 wallets, the total haul would dwarf the value of every other asset typically seized and sold by the bureau combined. It\u2019s a far cry from the small-time seizures Collins initially surrendered.<\/p>\n

Back in the early days of the case, Collins gave up roughly \u20ac1.2 million in accessible assets, including a private plane, a camper van, a fishing boat, and about \u20ac1 million in Bitcoin<\/span> from separate, unlocked accounts. Those figures now look like pocket change compared to the $378 million currently on the line.<\/p>\n

The High Court in Dublin has already ruled that these bitcoin<\/span> accounts are the proceeds of crime and are officially forfeited to the state. For now, the Irish government is holding a winning lottery ticket that just needs a few more codes to fully cash out.<\/p>\n

The CAB\u2019s persistence proves that in the world of crypto-forfeiture, being \u201clost\u201d is often just a temporary state of being\u2014provided you have Europol on speed dial.<\/p>\n

FAQ \ud83d\udd0e<\/h2>\n