- July 7, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
- Category:
Conor Grogan, a Coinbase executive, has successfully found and returned $322,000 in dormant Ethereum Classic (ETC) funds to their owner, who was utterly unaware of the fund’s existence. The remarkable turn of events took place late in the evening on July 5, providing a windfall for the fortunate cryptocurrency investor.
Grogan took to Twitter to share the story, detailing how he uncovered the substantial sum of forgotten crypto and managed to contact the owner, who had no knowledge of their newfound wealth. Grogan, who serves as the head of product at Coinbase, explained that when the Ethereum blockchain underwent a fork in 2016, Ethereum Classic was created. As a result, anyone holding the standard Ether at the time received an equivalent amount of ETC through an airdrop. Many recipients, however, never made use of these additional funds, according to Grogan.
The act of forgetting about funds or failing to keep track of airdrops is not uncommon, as Grogan pointed out. He has previously assisted investors in recovering substantial six-figure amounts in similar situations. In one instance, he notified a Twitter user that they had 23 ETH sitting untouched. The process of tracking down these dormant wallets is no easy feat. Grogan began by meticulously examining the “ETC rich list,” identifying accounts that had never made any transactions with their ETC holdings. After locating approximately 20 addresses holding over $250,000 worth of ETC, he painstakingly searched for ways to contact the owners.
Grogan encountered numerous dead ends while attempting to reach most of the wallet owners. However, he eventually stumbled upon an address with the distinctive prefix “0x475.” Intriguingly, this wallet also contained a cryptocurrency called eosDAC (EOSDAC), which had been airdropped to Ethereum holders in 2018. Armed with this newfound information, Grogan was able to determine the airdrop amount and snapshot date, which enabled him to connect with the holder’s EOS wallet. Delving into legal documents associated with the 0x475 ETH address, Grogan eventually discovered the legal name linked to the wallet.
In a heartwarming conclusion to the story, Grogan successfully reached out to the owner and shared the news of their long-lost riches. Reflecting on the experience, he expressed hope that he had managed to make the owner’s day a little brighter.
