Hey everyone...
I could really use some help, if you don't mind. A while back, I got into Bitcoin and purchased some, plus I set up a wallet. The problem is, I can't seem to figure out where it is now. All I have is the wallet number, and I think it was from 2020 or 2021.
Could you please share more information?
The wallet name? Was it multicoin or supports bitcoin only? do you have a seedphrase written somewhere? what do you mean by wallet "number"? If you're 100% sure it's not the private key, maybe you can share it here so we have a better idea as to what you should be looking for.
Its not entirely clear what you mean when you write about the wallet number. Do you mean public key or address?
What software product did you use to create your wallet?
Perhaps it was Electrum? Or did you lose your wallet.dat file and only have the password (don't post it on the forum in this case)?
Perhaps you still have the seed (this is a sequence of several words in English)? In this case, it is also highly undesirable to publish them on a forum or on any other Internet resource...
Confidential financial information cannot be disclosed to other persons!
It's still difficult to understand your situation.
Different wallet softwares and different OS can have different directories for your wallet file.
Bitcoin Core directory
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory
Electrum wallet
https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#where-is-the-electrum-datadir-located
[overview] Recover Bitcoin from any old storage format
Bitcoin wallet is not like a bank account or anything similar. You can not have a wallet number like 2020 or 2021. The wallet file can have a default name given by the wallet software or it can have a customized name given by you when you created it.
2020/21 isn't so long ago. There were already lots of good wallets to use and with a bit of search you'll avoid any private key stealing software. The question now would be if you made any grave mistake and did not properly backup your wallet.
How long is this wallet number and does it have any other characters in it as well?
There is no such thing as called wallet number in Bitcoin.
We have Bitcoin address, Private keys(string of letters and numbers) and seeds (combination of words which can be 12 or 24 in most common wallets).
As others said you may have to provide more information to assist you if it's possible.
On extreme cases if you left it on the exchange's wallet then recovering is easier if you don't have anything at all, all you need is the email you used for registration and recover the account.
He might be talking about a wallet address not the wallet number.
@OP I suggest if you installed a wallet on your PC you should be able to find the wallet file that you can use to recover your wallet but if you created a wallet on an online site then that would be hard to guess which one. The online wallet we used before at that time was blockchain.com but you need to add more info about your wallet as we do not know how you created your BTC wallet.
If its not a Bitcoin wallet from blockchain or any site and you remember that you installed a wallet software in your PC or wallet app in your device try to check the list of wallet from this link below and then tell us which one you use.
- https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet?step=5&platform=windows
The only way this can be solved is IF OP tells us the wallet name which we can use to identify the wallet type ..
OP might just be talking about the pass phrase to opening his or her wallet
If this is true then OP might have forgotten to save the wallet seed phrase or OP just use a exchange wallet that requires only pass phrases to enter
The wallet displayed you 12, 15, 18, 21 or 24 words to backup? If it does, it is called the seed phrase. You will need the seed phrase for your coins recovery.
If you just sign up with email and password, you need to know the name of the wallet and also be able to have the access to the email and use forgot password. These type of wallets are called custodial wallets. Custodial wallets are not recommended.
If you are still using the computer (not phone) that you installed the wallet, try and download back the same wallet and see if you will be able to see your coins without no seed phrase import. I have experienced this on Electrum.
It's quite possible that the OP must have a backup file containing the year on filename, which may be why he referred to the wallet number.
But even without any details of the information there is no way for anyone to help, as we barely know if it's a self-hosted wallet or a web wallet.
If the OP had at least informed that he has a recovery seed, he can recover in any renowned wallet, but we don't even know that.
In order for us to help you, you need to help us provide the information that others have already requested.
I have the wallet number which is
153A8SpY28CSGG7pc9HftEs3KYD63igbMX
thank you all From the depths I offer you my thanks and appreciation One of the individuals helped me until I was able to open it Can I know the purchase date in the application that I added it to
Sadly the wallet address (number) doesn't give any clue at all where it was made and how.
You should either have another number called private key (and that you should never tell anybody because then they would be able to spend your coins) that looks like KyZzJnG9tEgiK1UabmyLkW54C61FXNTKsC8QfByQTMdwu2Sw5fkz or L17i3uPwChAbLvNC9w4nRys9eAeZ9QzbzUHjRu231fXfrZa4MRjw , either an account on some website (user and password).
..Or a seed of 12-24 words, but if you have only one address it may not be the case.
You can get this information from any blockchain explorer. For example, this one - getblock.
Balance
0.00086199 BTC 59.53 USD
Last received
2021-03-25 15:36 UTC (3 y. ago)
If I understand your question correctly.
Unless application you used offer both wallet and exchange feature, the answer is no. You need to remember which wallet application and exchange you used few years ago. Have you tried checking your old email or browsing history?
I don't want to be too pessimistic, but this looks like one of those simple scam schemes where someone "sells" someone Bitcoin, but actually sells them a public address in a watch-only wallet. In any case, the OP should have something more than that, otherwise he can look at that address for the rest of his life.
What about that individual who helped you "buy" BTC - can you ask him for help?
OP, I have followed your post from the beginning and I must say, you did not give sufficient details that will enable people here help you. Yet, everyone has tried to help you. You said one of the individuals helped you until you were able open it, open what exactly?
Are you saying you've been able to recover your wallet? If that's the case, then that's great.
If what you mean by purchase date is knowing when you performed the transaction, this link below will enable you see the transaction analysis in that wallet from the day it was created.
https://blockexplorer.one/
Were applications that offer both wallet and exchange features available as at 2020/2021? I am new in this industry, I can only know what happened even last year by reading. I read somewhere that wallet and exchange feature in one application only started recently, is he wrong?
This is a very good recommendation, only if OP has the patience to go through this their email.There are chances that he will find solution there.
I became aware of the watch only wallets few days ago when someone approached me with a Trustwallet app with much balance inside. He was struggling to withdraw the coins, that it's his profits from trading. When I saw watch only wallets, I knew what it means as the name implied. You can only watch but cannot transact. I was able to tell him that, he's not incharge of those coins, that he can only view the balance. Although, he wasn't satisfied. I didn't bother much because I knew he can't make such amount of profits from trading. From your post, it's obvious my friend was scammed. I will check on him tomorrow.
Looking at old Exodus website on https://web.archive.org/web/20210209153021/https://www.exodus.com/, they already offer built-in exchange feature since early 2021. I'm sure there are few others wallet which already offer such feature back then, but i don't bother do more research.
Not much patience needed, since OP could just use search feature on email service he use.
From what you wrote, it seems that this is the case - although there is always the possibility that someone creates a watch-only wallet so that they can easily have an insight into their transactions/balances - and then they get completely confused that they cannot sign a transaction with such a wallet. Unfortunately, many people who invest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies generally do not know the difference between a public address and a private key - that is why it is so easy to deceive them.
Thank you for the insights.
It was actually a scam. I contacted him, he said it's a telegram group they all belong and decided to crowd fund and be trading with the money. When it's your turn, you will withdraw the profits until it goes round the group. Funny enough he wanted to be smart to withdraw both the profits and capital before it is his turn. But I now let him know that it can never be his turn. And no one is withdrawing any profit apart from the scammers. He's doubting still and waiting for his turn. I don't know how he managed to believe a group of people he hasn't seen before and don't know in person.
Telegram is a paradise for scammers, especially since the entire communication history can be deleted and the victims no longer have any proof that anything happened at all. Unfortunately, your friend is a classic example of a naive investor who thinks that money grows on trees and that some "good" people share it through social networks.
The only thing worse for him (and others like him) is if he dragged someone else into that network - and then he can face the anger of that person or even a lawsuit for the financial damage caused.