Researchers help recover 43.6 bitcoins that have been in the dust for more than a decade by cracking a 20-character password

On May 29, two researchers helped a man recover the lost passwords of his cryptocurrency wallet, which contained 43.6 bitcoins, currently worth about $2.96 million.
The man, known as Michael, set up a cryptocurrency wallet sometime in 2013 and then used RoboForm to create his unique password. Due to security concerns, Michael stored the password in an encrypted file, choosing not to store it in RoboForm. However, when the encrypted file was corrupted, Michael no longer had the 20-character password required to access the 43.6 bitcoins in the wallet.
Although Michael doesn't fully remember when he created his password, the researchers noted that he transferred bitcoin to his wallet on April 13, 2013. Using specific time parameters, they tested many passwords until they found the correct one, which was created on May 15, 2013.
Michael transferred some of his bitcoins to two researchers. Michael sold another small part, so he now owns 30 bitcoins, worth about $2 million. Michael said he intends to hold his bitcoins until the value of a single token reaches $100,000.
He added that he was glad he couldn't access the wallet because holding the tokens for a long time allowed them to appreciate over time.