Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau Cracks First of 12 Seized Bitcoin Wallets

Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has made a significant breakthrough in its efforts to access 12 Bitcoin wallets seized from a convicted drug dealer in 2019. One of the wallets, which contained 500 Bitcoin worth approximately $34 million, was successfully accessed with the help of Europol's technical expertise.

The 500 BTC, valued at around $71,000 each, represent 'the proceeds of crime,' according to the CAB. The original seizure in 2019 was valued at $61 million. The value of the Bitcoin has since ballooned to $418 million due to its increasing value over time.

The wallets belonged to Clifton Collins, a 55-year-old former beekeeper who was jailed for five years after growing cannabis and selling it to criminals. Collins had invested proceeds from his drug business in Bitcoin from 2011 when the cryptocurrency traded between $0.30 and $29. He created 12 wallets to store his growing fortune and recorded the private keys in a document hidden in a fishing rod case.