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root_over_ssh t1_ivlaa1i wrote

Reply to comment by mike9132 in TIL: That in 2019, some criminals were caught and 36 BTC was confiscated. The authorities valued the worth at €127,000 at the time and was sold 2 years later for €1.5 million. The criminals were returned €1.3 million due to the fact that the amount was expressed in Swedish Krona, not BTC by Wendals87

Cryptocurrency is seized by obtaining the key.

Either they find the device that stored the key or obtain access to an account that controlled the keys. Often done by seizing USB drives or getting access to email/cloud storage accounts.

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mike9132 t1_ivlawws wrote

So hypothetically, if the device storing the key was never found and for whatever reason the private key remained unknown?

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plumberoncrack t1_ivm4sg3 wrote

Yeah, in that case there is literally no way of taking control of the Bitcoin. BTC is based on cryptography that would take the fastest computers about 40,000 years to break into a single wallet.

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coriolisFX t1_iw39kpi wrote

How's that 401(k) bet working out for you?

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plumberoncrack t1_iw3znzu wrote

~5% unrealized losses. I have a low time preference, ask me again in 4 years.

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