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How can I figure out where I created my Bitcoin wallet?

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5 min read

How can I figure out where I created my Bitcoin wallet?

At Crypto Asset Recovery, we often hear the question “I created a Bitcoin account back in 2014, but I’m not sure where my wallet is. Can you help me find it?”

In general, we can’t find it for you.  We would need access to too many of your accounts (email, dropbox, etc) and possibly your computers themselves.

But, that said, with a little legwork there’s a good chance you can find the account yourself.  Then, if you still need help recovering your password, contact us.

How do you figure out what service you used to create your bitcoin wallet?

As you might guess, tracking down a service that you used three or four years ago (let alone 10 or 12!) has the potential to be complicated.  However, there are a couple of easy steps that you should take first.  If you’re lucky, one of these will work.

If these don’t work, keep reading.

Blockchain

Blockchain.com (now known as Blockchain.com) was one of the most popular early wallet providers. So, if you have no idea what service you might have used this is a good place to start.  Here are two quick ways to check whether you created an account on Blockchain:

  • Search your email for a message with the subject line: Welcome to My Wallet.  If you find such a message, then you created an account on Blockchain, and your Wallet ID will be included in the email.
  • If that doesn’t work, you can take the following steps:
  • Open your web browser and go to: https://blockchain.com/wallet/
  • It’s possible, but unlikely that your wallet id will be displayed in the “Wallet ID” field of the login form
  • Click on “View Options” in the lower right-hand corner of the login form
  • Look for the option that says “I’ve lost my Wallet ID: Email me a reminder with my Wallet ID to my email address”
  • Click “Remind Me” next to that option
  • Enter the email address you used to create the wallet, fill out the “captcha” and submit the form
  • If you correctly identified the email address that you used to create your wallet, then Blockchain.info should email you the Wallet ID within a few minutes.

If those two steps didn’t work, there are three other possibilities:

  • You used a different email address than the one you checked, in which case you can run the same tests on those other email addresses.
  • You used a different wallet.
  • If you lost control of your email address for a while (perhaps the email provider closed it because you didn’t login for a year or two?) then there’s another possibility — but you need to contact us).

Take a Few Minutes to Get Organized

If those first, simple checks didn’t work then it’s probably worth taking a few minutes to get organized.  Here is the initial research that we recommend:

  1. Get a good estimate of when you acquired the missing cryptocurrency.
  2. Might the purchase be mentioned on a bank or credit card statement?
  3. Create a list of all the email addresses you might have used during that time, and see if you can get access to those email accounts
  4. Do you have a place (ex: a safe or a safe deposit box) where you might have stored printouts with passwords, paper wallets, security phrases, etc?  Check to see what backup information you might have.
  5. Think through the physical computers that you might have used.  Which of those do you still have access to?

12 or 24-word Recovery Phrases

The BIP39 standard for 12- and 24-word recovery phrases (also called recovery seeds, mnemonics and mnemonic phrases) was adopted by a number of wallets starting in 2013. If you first created your wallet in 2013 or later, it’s quite possible that your backup for the wallet is simply a 12- or 24-word phrase.

This phrase might look like this:

false resemble seminar wagon excuse holiday fragile bargain leader trip source dutch

BTW: with a few very specific exceptions, a 12-word recovery phrase tells you nothing about the wallet used to generate the phrase. This could be a phrase generated by a wallet that can manage Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. Most modern wallets use BIP39-compliant 12- or 24-word recovery phrases.

Search your Hard Drive

Are you still using the same computer that you used at the time you created the wallet?  If so, it’s possible that you saved a backup of the wallet to your computer.

Here are some typical filenames / extensions for wallet backups:

  • *.key or *.wallet (Multibit Classic wallets)
  • *.vault
  • default_wallet (Electrum wallets)
  • mbhd.wallet.aes (Multibit HD wallets)
  • wallet.aes.json (for Blockchain.info / Blockchain.com wallets)
  • wallet.dat (for Bitcoin Core / Bitcoin-Qt and variants (such as Dogecoin Core)
  • wallet.data (Bitcoin.com wallet)

There are other wallet files for other types of crypto. For example MyEtherWallet uses a keystore file that takes the name: UTC–YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SS.[46 character string]. (For example: UTC–2018-02-09T15-50-38.056Z–6c1d075eb115676ad5a9e96cc32f80d13a5a6dd5)

Did you have a Dropbox Account?

Might you have backed up your wallet to your Dropbox account?  You can try searching for the aforementioned filenames / extensions on Dropbox.com.

Backups

There are many ways to back up your hard drive.

Macs:

  • Time Machine is a standard Mac application that you can configure to take “snap shots” of your hard drive.  Do you have a Time Machine snap shot from the time you created your account?
  • Apple sells an external hard drive called a Time Capsule — did you use this to backup your hard drive?
  • There are many services, like Backblaze.com that will remotely back up your hard drive.

Check your Browser

There are at least two options here:

First, most modern browsers give you an option to “Manage Passwords”.  If you created a new account and you asked your browser to remember your username and password then you may be able to find the name of the site (and potentially your username and password) in your browser’s password manager.

Second, if you created this service recently, perhaps your browser history has stored the domain name of the service that you used.

Contact our experts today

Lets Talk

Frequently Asked Questions

If I know the address where I received Bitcoin can I figure out what service created that address?

The answer, unfortunately, is: No

A bitcoin address is derived from your private key.   Your private key is a random 256-bit number.  Every wallet uses the same process to derive a bitcoin address from a private key.  Therefore, there’s no way to figure out where you created a wallet based on one of its bitcoin addresses.

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Cyber security is a term used to describe the protection of electronic and computer networks, programs and data against unauthorized access. Maintaining a high standard of security is essential to protect critical systems and data against cyber-attacks. The sophistication, persistence and continuous evolution of cyber threats means organizations are finding it increasingly challenging to defend against them. This makes it essential to approach cyber security as a continuous journey, involving regular assessments and appropriate investment in people, processes and technologies to mitigate the risk.

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Cyber security services are specialized engagements designed to enable organizations to manage and mitigate the risk and impact of cyberattacks. Kroll’s cyber security services are designed to help organizations protect, detect and respond. The right mix of cyber security services, including advisory services, proactive assessments, managed detection and response, incident response and breach notification, ensures that organizations are able to defend against threats on endpoints, across the surface web and throughout the deep and dark web.

What are the 3 pillars of information security?

Infosec, or information security, forms a critical part of cyber security because it helps to protect online data from authorized access or use. The three pillars of infosec, Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability, often referred to as the CIA triad, are foundational principles for maintaining a robust level of security. Confidentiality involves checking whether your systems are protected from external, authorized access. Integrity entails ensuring that data has not been tampered with and is correct and trustworthy, while availability involves checking that networks, systems and applications are operational and ready for use when required.

Where to start with cyber security?

An effective starting point for effective cyber security is to assess your current cyber security posture. Look at which of your systems, networks and data are secure and which are vulnerable. Consider using external providers to undertake assessments such as penetration testing to gain a complete picture. Uncovering potential vulnerabilities will then allow you to start developing an effective cyber security policy and strategy. Again, expert support with this will ensure that your cyber security approach is effective and robust.

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Asset recovery involves the confiscation of illicit assets, usually the proceeds of crime, and the return of these assets to the legitimate owner(s). Assets can take the form of money or other items of value, for example real estate, precious metals, investments such as shares, virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies, race horses, luxury goods, or an aeroplane. Asset recovery can be a purely domestic process when the funds have been hidden or invested in the jurisdiction where they were illegally obtained. It can also be international, when the funds have been sent to another jurisdiction. The process of asset recovery is complex but generally covers four basic phases: pre-investigation (verification of information), investigation (often including seizing/freezing assets and international cooperation to obtain intelligence or evidence), judicial proceedings (following which the court may issue a confiscation order for the assets), and disposal or return (where the assets are returned to the rightful owner).

Why is asset recovery important in preventing and combatting corruption?

First, for its deterrent effect. People are more likely to engage in corrupt behaviour if they are confident that – even if they are caught and convicted – they and their families will still be able to enjoy their illegally obtained wealth. Recovering illicit assets helps deter corruption by turning it into a higher-risk, lower-reward activity. Second, by convicting corrupt officials and recovering stolen assets, countries can also generate funds for development and strengthen their criminal justice system. The end results are stronger rule of law, integrity and trust in government.

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Our assistance takes the form of advice in the following fields:

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Excellent service, prompt responses, and the return of my password (in just two days!).

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They did a great job and had my funds recovered within a few days. Only downside is that it’s a little expensive.

Laura Stansberry

I would like to thank them. They worked so hard to recover my assets, over several months. I had nearly given up, but they persisted on my behalf, and they came through for me. I can't praise them enough, you can trust them with your crypto asset recovery.

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They did a great job and had my account recovered within a few days. Only downside is that it’s a little expensive.

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Overall excellent service They assist me in getting two of my wallets back. The team at Logan is really helpful, and I am really appreciative of their assistance. I have not used the wallets in more than four or five years, and when I returned, I essentially forgot and could not find everything. They were the only people who could have actually helped me! My life changed because of what they did; I lost everything, but now I have everything!

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