Cryptocurrency lost a digital wallet with Ethereum for more than $ 1.2 billion

Estonian banker Rein Lomus, who bought 250,000 Ethereum ETH $4,593.87 Bridged Ether (StarkGate) -0.94% Market capitalization $0.12 billion VOL. 24 hours $5.65 billion in 2014 during a pre-sale, still does not have access to his wallet. He spoke about this two years ago on Estonian public radio, noting that he was ready to consider offers from those who could help restore access. The wallet’s address was later linked to him by Coinbase product director Conor Grog, Decrypt reports.

On Wednesday, the Ethereum rate briefly exceeded $ 4,700, returning to 2021 highs. At this price, the lost assets of Lemus are estimated at about $ 1.2 billion, which is almost three times more than in October 2023, when Ethereum was trading at about $ 1,600.

According to Arkham Intelligence, the banker’s wallet remains dormant, except for a few small Ethereum transactions.

Similar situations have happened to other cryptocurrency owners: some forgot passwords, others accidentally threw away hard drives. This phenomenon has become so widespread that in 2021, a reality show dedicated to the search for lost digital assets appeared.