I found a paper wallet on a beach ... seriously - page 10.

Fivestar4everMVP

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1083

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: LoyceV on August 06, 2022, 03:12:43 AM

Quote from: Fivestar4everMVP on August 05, 2022, 05:36:38 PM

because...
3. If there is absolutely no means or clues available to you as a means of guessing who the real wallet owner might be, then I honestly do not think the police will find any clue either, since they are not super humans.

The owner may have reported the missing wallet to the police already. That's official the go-to place for missing items.

You are right, but I highly doubt anyone would think of reporting this kind of matter to the police, except in the occasion that the user was robbed and many items, including the paper wallet was taken from such a person, then no doubt, the matter can be reported to the police, but in an occasion where the user was just walking by the side of a beach and wanting to bring out his or her phone from the pocket where the paper wallet is, eventually, the paper wallet fell off without the user taking notice, I personally would not report such a case to the police since....
1. I don't think the police will go in search of the paper wallet for me.
2. If someone picked my lost paper wallet, I am not expecting that person to take it to the police.
3. Even if the picker turned out to be a good Samaritan by handing over my lost paper wallet to the police, I don't find the police trustworthy enough to call me up to let me know that my lost paper wallet have been found, the police are likely to keep the wallet for themselves.
Though I understand that police differs from country to country, but the fact that there are many countries in this world that their police are more corrupt than the citizens, this can never be over emphasized.

Pmalek

legendary

Activity: 2730

Merit: 7065

Quote from: franky1 on August 06, 2022, 07:17:08 AM

Franky you are forgetting about something. Let's put the terminology aside or if you want, let's call it a bitnote. So OP found a bitnote. Maybe person A created said bitnote and gave it to person B, and person B is the one that lost it or had it stolen. You could be right that whoever created the bitnote didn't want to keep it for themselves. But that doesn't mean the physical item wasn't given to the other recipient who now no longer has access to it.

easternklaas hasn't written anything for a few days, but I am sure he/she is still checking this thread. @easternklaas can you tell us what is written on it besides the keys? You mentioned a logo and a website. Share some more info about it.

franky1

legendary

Activity: 4424

Merit: 4794

while again certain people want to pander to social drama poking of buzzwords.
lets just sort out their issues,
especially when the quote of the descriptors quoted by someone trying to social drama poke a failed rebuttal about buzzwords

a paper walet is an umbrella term
it can mean many things. mainly its only requirement is seed/key put on paper.. thats it
EG hand written using pen/pencil/crayon, or printed out

where as, there are then is a more defined sub-group of things that have more minimal standards
EG bitnotes
which can be any design made by anyone (its not a brand for a particular company/entity/person)
that has the bitcoin logo, the qr codes, and instructions to redeem.
where the purpose is to hand the bitnotes out to other people that know less/nothing about bitcoin

thus now lets come back to the actual point
by having the descriptors of a bitnote as oppose to a plain hand written seed on paper(basic paperwallet) helps the topic creator narrow down options for trying to find the original owner

emphasising the major point (finding original owner)
by using a blockexploerer to check the funds confirmation date. he can see if the value was still a significant amount the original owner would be concerned/cared about at the time or it was an amount valued at the confirmation time that leans more to a giveaway amount.
again by having redeem instructions and logo and qr code already leans in the giveaway scenario, as oppose to someone wanting to keep funds for self(no need to instruct self if your already involved in bitcoin)

also using the confirmation date can then look around forums and social media for people that performed giveaways/geocache drops that used that design at the time.

Cricktor

hero member

Activity: 714

Merit: 1010

Crypto Swap Exchange

Quote from: LoyceV on August 06, 2022, 03:12:43 AM

OP's description doesn't sound like a "bitnote":

Quote from: easternklaas on August 01, 2022, 09:21:42 PM

There is faint remnants of a bitcoin logo on it and the words 'paper wallet' and the name of the website from which it came printed down the right hand side.

In my reception OP's description could be something like shown below ^{(please, do NEVER use the site anymore referenced in the picture as it will scam you and steal coins from even offline generated paper wallets with their Javascript site code: those private keys can be recomputed by the site owner and he will steal coins as done many times since about approx. end of 2018 after the original trustworthy site creator Canton Becker sold the website address to some shady entity)}:
(pictures taken from one of canton's own posts)

The final zip bagged paper wallet (the colored version) is shown here:

While I prefer to call such an example a paper wallet, I wouldn't be irritated if someone were to call it a bitnote, too. It conceales the private key slightly better as if it were just openly viewable.

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18771

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

Let's say few years ago I lost/forgot a photo camera in beach, and I never reported it as stolen because I lost it and it's my fault, nobody came and took it from me with a knife.

Again, irrelevant. Whether or not it is morally right to steal money which does not belong to you also does not depend whatsoever on how careful or otherwise the owner has been with that money.

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

Finding a paper wallet, not stealing.
There is a big difference.

I don't see the difference whatsoever. Whether you find a paper wallet or whether you break in to an electronic device to access the wallet, you are stealing money which is not yours. What about if you accidentally stumble across someone's seed phrase back up? I would suspect that most people would view that as outright theft. How is that any different from stumbling across a paper wallet?

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

If you think that any thing someone found was stolen in the world, than we are living in world that stole 99% of things and land from other people.

I mean yes, but that's beside the point.

Quote from: AnotherAlt on August 05, 2022, 04:13:22 AM

Hehe. Then Exchanges own many coins because users don't have private keys Grin

. They only have email and passwords.

Completely correct. If all the bitcoin you have purchased is on a centralized exchange, then you own exactly zero bitcoin.

Quote from: Fivestar4everMVP on August 05, 2022, 05:36:38 PM

I will suggest you try moving the funds to another wallet

Once again, absolutely do not do this. The most likely way for the owner to access his funds is by realizing his paper wallet is lost and moving them. If you move them first, they cannot do that anymore.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: Fivestar4everMVP on August 05, 2022, 05:36:38 PM

because...
3. If there is absolutely no means or clues available to you as a means of guessing who the real wallet owner might be, then I honestly do not think the police will find any clue either, since they are not super humans.

The owner may have reported the missing wallet to the police already. That's the official go-to place for missing items.

Quote from: franky1 on August 05, 2022, 11:26:44 PM

if you are concentrating on the zippy bag point you missed the point. it was the BITNOTE that was more interesting.

OP's description doesn't sound like a "bitnote":

Quote from: easternklaas on August 01, 2022, 09:21:42 PM

There is faint remnants of a bitcoin logo on it and the words 'paper wallet' and the name of the website from which it came printed down the right hand side.

franky1

legendary

Activity: 4424

Merit: 4794

Quote from: LoyceV on August 05, 2022, 04:03:07 PM

Quote from: franky1 on August 05, 2022, 02:39:44 PM

i just found it interesting when the OP said he found a paperwallet in a zippy bag.. and also it wasnt just a passphrase but a QR code which is more of what i call a 'bitnote'(as demo's in image) rather than a paper wallet (hand wrote key on paper)

A (no longer trusted) paper wallet site used to sell CDs, tamper proof stickers and ziplock bags, basically making it a complete package to create and store paper wallets. Ziplock bags are quite common anyway, I use them for my phone and wallet too when cycling through the rain.

if you are concentrating on the zippy bag point you missed the point. it was the BITNOTE that was more interesting.
i did previously say that the topic creator can use an explorer to see WHEN the funds were confirmed to the address, and presuming that it was ages ago when value was way less, then that leans even more towards it being a discarded geocache.

EG paper wallets i own are not bitnotes they are just passphrases and private keys on paper. no design no logo(top creator mentioned logo) no instruction(topic creator mentioned instructions) so it appears thats its a bitnote not a simple pen on paper 'paperwallet'. and as such the main utility of bitnotes especially ones in zippy bags were not to put into your own drawer/safe for your own use but to be given out/given away.

so if the confirmed coin date was significantly in the past where the value at the time was not significant. then it leans more towards being a discarded geocache bitnote that the original maker doesnt care much for..

though if it is the case they could probably investigate anyone that did perform bitcoin geocache giveaways in that region of the planet and see if they can find the originator via people talking about doing geocache giveaways around the date of the confirmed coins

n0nce

hero member

Activity: 924

Merit: 5943

not your keys, not your coins!

Quote from: AnotherAlt on August 05, 2022, 04:13:22 AM

Quote from: n0nce on August 01, 2022, 05:41:28 PM

Technically, whoever owns the private keys, owns the coins.
I agree that it may be unethical to 'take' them if we assume whoever lost that seed has another copy and might notice.

Hehe. Then Exchanges own many coins because users don't have private keys Grin

. They only have email and passwords.
It's unethical for exchanges to steal users' coins.

Just Kidding.

They do own the coins and they do steal coins; that's actually not even a joke! Cheesy

I suggest you this thread.
[Blacklist] of unreliable, 'taint proclaiming' Bitcoin services / exchanges.

Back to topic: @easternklaas, I think you got enough bits of advice on ways to get the original owner to notice they lost their wallet.
In case you need help with any of the proposed ideas, don't hesitate to ask for more detailed instructions.

Anyways, just posting the address can't hurt and it may reveal that pursuing the matter any further may be futile (e.g. output may already have been spent), as well as helping with search engine indexing.
Make sure not to share the private key with anyone.

Addresses always look like one of these 3 options.

Quote from: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Invoice_address

P2PKH which begin with the number 1, eg: 1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2.
P2SH type starting with the number 3, eg: 3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy.
Bech32 type starting with bc1, eg: bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq.

Taproot addresses start with bc1p, but I highly doubt that you have found such a recent paper wallet - statistically, barely anyone uses Taproot yet.

Fivestar4everMVP

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1083

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: easternklaas on July 31, 2022, 05:32:44 PM

I suspect it was stolen and dumped by an ignorant burglar. It's there any way to identify from whom it came so I can return it? It seems pointless handing it into the police if they'll just destroy it....

1. 0.6 BTC at current price is still alot of money for many.
2. In my own personal point of view, I agree that it is pointless handing the paper wallet over to the police because...
3. If there is absolutely no means or clues available to you as a means of guessing who the real wallet owner might be, then I honestly do not think the police will find any clue either, since they are not super humans.

Here is what I think you should do - - since you have access to the wallet now, I will suggest you try moving the funds to another wallet, if the operation go through successfully, then pay absolute attention to this forum to see if any user is going to complain about a wallet hack, incase there is, you can then try to match the wallet details provided by the user to that which you have at hand, if it matched, then maybe you now know who the owner of the paper wallet is.
But the above can only work if the real owner of the paper wallet is on this forum and currently active.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: franky1 on August 05, 2022, 02:39:44 PM

i just found it interesting when the OP said he found a paperwallet in a zippy bag.. and also it wasnt just a passphrase but a QR code which is more of what i call a 'bitnote'(as demo's in image) rather than a paper wallet (hand wrote key on paper)

A (no longer trusted) paper wallet site used to sell CDs, tamper proof stickers and ziplock bags, basically making it a complete package to create and store paper wallets. Ziplock bags are quite common anyway, I use them for my phone and wallet too when cycling through the rain.

franky1

legendary

Activity: 4424

Merit: 4794

Quote from: PrivacyG on August 05, 2022, 02:16:11 PM

Quote from: franky1 on August 04, 2022, 11:57:11 PM

this image is not about the topics specific find. but im just leaving an image via google which might explain why a guy found a paperwallet in a sealed bag.. not the first time someone found a random bag with a paper wallet included
(hint: geocaching)

An interesting outlook, but geocaching is basically leaving an item somewhere and marking it on a map so others could find it. Right? If so, why would someone leave over $10,000 on a beach for someone else to claim? Also, if that is the case, I think there should be a map showing all the geocached things so OP could look to see if this paper wallet has been marked on the map? If you are right, this could lead to just the right answer this thread (and OP) needed.
Regards,
PrivacyG

possible scenario
it was in a geocache box(at some time in the past). someone found it X months/years ago (when the value conversion was not worth $10k but 100x less) didnt think much of it or didnt understand bitcoin to care much.. so just disregarded it, and nature took care of the rest.

EG blew into a river that then ran down to the coast, much like how 85% of all discarded items found on beaches originated

i just found it interesting when the OP said he found a paperwallet in a zippy bag.. and also it wasnt just a passphrase but a QR code which is more of what i call a 'bitnote'(as demo's in image) rather than a paper wallet (hand wrote key on paper)

so if the topic creator can confirm if it was a 'bitnote' that was found. it seems more plausible that he found a discarded geocache prize from ages ago.

bitnotes where it has a QR code and instructions on how to redeem are not meant for the guy that printed it to keep as they already know how to handle bitcoin. its meant to be handed around to other people.

the other thing is the topic creator can use his block explorer to see when the funds were confirmed.
if they were deposited recently where the deposit was worth something more than a few days salary at the time of deposit. that the original owner would be shocked that they lost their funds.
however if the amount at the time of the confirmation was low. then its obvious a disregard amount meant to be found by anyone to then claim

PrivacyG

legendary

Activity: 882

Merit: 1873

Crypto Swap Exchange

Quote from: franky1 on August 04, 2022, 11:57:11 PM

this image is not about the topics specific find. but im just leaving an image via google which might explain why a guy found a paperwallet in a sealed bag.. not the first time someone found a random bag with a paper wallet included
(hint: geocaching)

An interesting outlook, but geocaching is basically leaving an item somewhere and marking it on a map so others could find it. Right? If so, why would someone leave over $10,000 on a beach for someone else to claim? Also, if that is the case, I think there should be a map showing all the geocached things so OP could look to see if this paper wallet has been marked on the map? If you are right, this could lead to just the right answer this thread (and OP) needed.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

AnotherAlt

sr. member

Activity: 280

Merit: 259

https://bitcoincleanup.com #EndTheFUD

Quote from: n0nce on August 01, 2022, 05:41:28 PM

Technically, whoever owns the private keys, owns the coins.
I agree that it may be unethical to 'take' them if we assume whoever lost that seed has another copy and might notice.

Hehe. Then Exchanges own many coins because users don't have private keys Grin

. They only have email and passwords.
It's unethical for exchanges to steal users' coins.

Just Kidding.

Pmalek

legendary

Activity: 2730

Merit: 7065

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

Finding a paper wallet, not stealing.
There is a big difference.

Finding something on the street or the beach and taking it is the same as stealing in many countries. Stealing does not have to be breaking and entering. If you walk behind someone who drops his phone or wallet and you pick it up and put it in your pocket, it's stealing. You didn't pull it out of the person's pocket but you still took something that doesn't belong to you.

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

It's not the same if I found a piece of land nobody is using, and if I kill someone and take away land from him.

An unused piece of land doesn't make it yours to take. Even if unused, it might belong to someone.

Quote from: dkbit98 on August 04, 2022, 02:43:00 PM

After reasonable amount of time I would give one part to charity or poor people, and I would just stake rest of the coins for future.

But that's the thing. What is a reasonable amount of time? 1 month, 1 year? 2 years? Has a reasonable amount of time passed since satoshi mined his bitcoin? Someone might say it has while others could say no. The truth is that it's a subjective decision. I make the decision what is a reasonable time before I spend my bitcoin, same as you. If one year is reasonable for me, maybe you consider 10 years to be reasonable.

hZti

hero member

Activity: 1050

Merit: 642

Magic

My first though was that maybe the paper wallet was put there intentionally because it is so unlikely that somebody would carry it with him at the beach. It may sound also possible that it was put there by a thief that didn't understand it but in any case I would suggest that you simply keep or donate it.

Charles-Tim

legendary

Activity: 1512

Merit: 4795

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: LoyceV on August 05, 2022, 02:47:25 AM

You should read up on BIP38 encryption Smiley Even a simple password makes it very hard to take the funds.

I agree. If encrypted with BIP38 passphrase, and if the passphrase used is strong, it would be a protection, especially in this case. But some people may not use passphrase to encrypt their paper wallet private key as it is optional.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: easternklaas on August 03, 2022, 07:36:59 PM

I scanned the initially concealed QR code on my phone, entered the also concealed code and was presented with a web page with info pertaining to a btc balance

Did you scan the private key's QR-code? If so, the wallet could already be compromised.

Quote from: The Sceptical Chymist on August 03, 2022, 08:16:12 PM

....like I said, too many laws, too much restriction of freedom, too much government involvement. Somehow when someone loses something and another person finds it, the government has laws in place that mandate their meddling (for lack of a better word).

Although I agree we have far too many laws and government is far too big, I don't think the law on finding items is that bad. If "finders keepers" would be allowed, any thief could just claim they found the item. Hell, I just found a ~~Ferrari~~ Lambo! It was totally unattended!

Quote from: Charles-Tim on August 04, 2022, 04:26:10 AM

I just meant that it is easy to compromise a paper wallet if compared to a hardware wallet.

You should read up on BIP38 encryption

Even a simple password makes it very hard to take the funds.

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on August 04, 2022, 09:38:19 AM

OP said "0.6104...ish". There are no addresses which contain exactly 0.6104 bitcoin. There are 85 addresses which contain between 0.61040000 and 0.61049999 bitcoin.

I made a slightly broader selection of all legacy addresses around this range:

Code:

14eLjod6F2ah2KKvxUV9zRnwgkTFPBC33a 61050000
1LcQK2jgwbrdAvzyVNHonpoQp1ECMn3DB4 61050000
16CHqj6SPky9T5enNdwXLVNgh1uPCz2a5G 61050000
1Ah41jARGcmWGEfxYPdGxhxL9kdYRu1HEF 61050000
18NA43NZgAPzvr1e9LhV7EFQSU5pdKr5B8 61048819
1VTgszWBL9Bucxrh4r5uj1rURunKmiBQ8 61048701
132fj2HwxgysZ8Bi19xEa6bqks7ZcDJUXp 61048488
1JyEFsX6dNe7AJYcKniQXrBk8VfqS7dKqy 61048331
1583qb3z53pHDUzxiHw72kzWH7FVK6mMBT 61047802
1JP2uT2MhqrtqHtZMMgg2hcV54Yw5BnYs8 61047152
16dP5aDu6vyA9QbN8HzbxLogjJNSPtWTWX 61046972
1GxBeXMEogGqxAE72pMPPZWuuxMwi3kkGx 61046719
18TwwNYLVxYbmXESygEVMhHvTkAvS8R4MQ 61045760
1L1cMrWMuUnV4WfdLv2Ds2tmqQi9G7mhvw 61045632
1vfEckEjM5ZTzSdjWCfubZGhBCpHaz5MX 61045614
148TucJejynPguqLKCgrn64VxvEYBDcKZc 61045092
1FfUn38CEawVyhNGiedV8nTCPqUi2tXiVn 61044842
1EwKSpXaxn7une9SLp7JAVSbm3mMQDU4ED 61044000
1Kmbdh5L6pWgJ5Kg5AMyqEaqrEoKbFENXp 61043830
12GEWVM8HQW9WiacUMmgtnBGrYziZnfqg6 61043696
1DfEUpKRpd4XhaakcAgAqeK9x66pjmsMZ1 61043000
1Fj1kNPohX3pGVidz4vfsZvdLBu7fKF6K1 61042156
13YUCSKqUFg5CFqnWztSVJMHZv2xEQ7D3K 61041259
17NkMSp8zDG621HQQLNaq9gqzQJwBudqpf 61041164
1Nebf4kTxvpyozXpmqMCdXawaNMhkVS8NV 61040600
19j93FEWWyVH5Gy6YJ1gG84FUvqK7i9uz9 61040508
1KF4cMqxw7DaYPh63bx22HAexFveekXvEo 61040497
1MMkMRi8NuNVmEmG38u2nJ14Xj3BGBvYCn 61040422
1JscNcdkvvxYA6CrxuhVHLWqiHkN4AYepq 61040268
1Hu3RKK35V9bbmEKBA2p7LbixAEm2HcFrC 61040258
18MtnxViv2Cp7vnocjuyzc4yF8yCBCY6o1 61039881
1HFXWqd5ML64AxE4c3DzSvEiRhEiNGmr3Y 61039500
1NDFkx3QmzE5iARda1pFxTjJxXuEBGw4AB 61039471
1L8ZrmArsUcr1BnTipoYabynpbpdWM8p34 61038488
17YpoNAoojRYv9c1GVrUwh448Y9RGucmK6 61038356
1J6EiRSGegfa1i69CTnFmTprFKinCMjEMe 61038250
1FYYXbNwychpx3KsosYX15c6ritpgQy5Yf 61038000
1H4QP6mQnNiVFAy6f86YNZbfPPEm2b9LwN 61037743
1JGmtUfyw7QgKb6ggZwCE36BNo8bVd2Uby 61037400
1936At62aXS8epprtjQiZV4AWGLdKrfm8P 61037177
1GY4WbWDRxtiUhYipSH2g93Aze5ENMfqZ7 61037000
1HRZG6ASqLyd6mrxMwV3ALgigfdhx1KhXT 61036917
1C3X5aZAYjBTgti7GU6VhErH6rg8WBqDuW 61036290
1H2wUSPgQaxP4V51JKvZuGpWEUhKnjif1k 61035866
1MCirzugBCrn5H6jHix6PJSLX7EqUEniBQ 61035329
19uJj1qSWf2qdH5B6p3QJieWkKC6mYwTrK 61035115
1CBhCMBuwZjgreA6uRzyE3y7MP8BKgAVKq 61034803
1DbaUbGuZKv4RCFLsqtzHofWkopAY1gwCd 61034576
164rmLcaYPbkLfmYKbAhfNeTnroftvFRx4 61034476
15pRZ6SZAeHpaji3iCodBkocxjdhMZYw12 61034277
1PUpynpNm2MyvkbRCfK9pwiLYzA6PzJYmb 61033300
1Jih4JvKfmLLYcnHLNT7Ydoba5Sa98R5sj 61032712
1Jvw9wbuYLNaLHJPuNw496zKpoqPvJbqx9 61032673
1EapZfi6ZuYBAQHcMVL6aFcAiD6W5SohhT 61032650
1PoFexmU8Gdej2xXA1MrLjnLeCTNMzeY8Z 61032468
1AdS1ycaZcpY8f7DMEPoUiw7MhCdKkqSXi 61032238
1Ly5K4kKYBXWfjbv4VmUberLdXFNr6yF7g 61031845
1AMHbmaWtrN9tDcP1vovkQdojhfqJXWPR 61031618
1EH4s5xYLzXPaTJzGVehLrRj1TwUZb3kRy 61031425
1KMaWhBg6aNUTkyDGN63U7KyciWw9cTPrx 61031037
19j2DHUnDcURBU3B7sBJSWfNeqVET1rDYQ 61031000
1C9jwQU9fsyaNiffZEwgSc3JoonNmeEbZT 61031000
16eabf2boFQDaiuNqzgzJP5mnfDL8AdF2q 61031000
1ACk424Mc6vMoKm7bPUA31UiwyjNuD2Lw 61030794
17auiEuA8usxmoHsx6x8ueBJcuJdnYEnNm 61030591
1P1rfFMzA8a6ZZzqbpwEQxVaeuewndsR44 61030000

It doesn't matter which one it is: if it's in this list it should be enough for search engines to pick up on it.

Quote from: n0nce on August 04, 2022, 05:24:06 PM

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/outputs?s=value(asc)&q=value(61040000.00000001..61049999),is_spent(false)
This query returns (as of right now) 127 UTXOs with 0.6104-0.61049999 BTC balance.

You're not looking for UTXOs, but for total balance. The wallet could have received more transactions.

Wind_FURY

legendary

Activity: 2898

Merit: 1823

Quote from: Charles-Tim on July 31, 2022, 05:38:29 PM

If you do not know the real owner, then you can not know the owner. The reason we should keep our private key or seed phrase safe in a safe location.

Or if you don't see the "real owner" anywhere and you hold the private jey of a wallet containing some Bitcoins, THEN YOU are the owner. Private key holder controls the wallet. Is it theft? It's not, it's a feature of self-custody in Bitcoin, which makes it a very powerful tool. No one controls your wealth, except you as the holder of the private key, not the government, not the banks, not ANYONE. You!

franky1

legendary

Activity: 4424

Merit: 4794

this image is not about the topics specific find. but im just leaving an image via google which might explain why a guy found a paperwallet in a sealed bag.. not the first time someone found a random bag with a paper wallet included
(hint: geocaching)

image found on google, image speaks a thousand words

n0nce

hero member

Activity: 924

Merit: 5943

not your keys, not your coins!

Quote from: easternklaas on August 03, 2022, 07:36:59 PM

~snip~
There's soo much rubbish blown onto this beach. Beachcombing passes the time whilst the dogs chase birds and roll in the remains of dead fish. I also came home with 2 x rubber dog balls and a funky piece of driftwood.

I scanned the initially concealed QR code on my phone, entered the also concealed code and was presented with a web page with info pertaining to a btc balance of 0.6104...ish. Is this typical of how these things work? I wasn't required to enter any other info. Seems a bit too easy to me....

Fair call. No worries.

That's odd to me; last time I made a paper wallet with QR code (that's a long time back, though), when scanned the code literally contained the private key - nothing more, nothing less. A second QR code contained a cleartext representation of the address / public key, but neither QR code led you directly to a website with the wallet's balance.

Different types of such paper wallet generators floated around in the past, but I'm surprised that an old paper wallet contains a web link that still works. So many Bitcoin sites went offline; exchanges, online wallets and also block explorers.

Quote from: BlackHatCoiner on August 04, 2022, 04:57:03 AM

So, whether you burn or spend the coins, you have the potential to have incorrect attitude.

Whatever is correct or not, largely depends on whatever ethic you base your morals upon. Is it Hedonism, Consequentialism, Utilitarianism, ... It's a personal question, so there will be no right or wrong.

Quote from: Lucius on August 04, 2022, 07:43:13 AM

Given that the OP published the exact amount of BTC in question (0.6104), is it possible to search all addresses that contain exactly that amount in case it is only one address? Maybe it would help in some way to get some information about the real owner - although it is not clear to me why the OP has not already published this information?

UTXO set is not too large. Should be possible to scan it for unspent transaction outputs with a value of 0\.6104.* in reasonable amount of time.
Edit: No need to reinvent the wheel. Use available tools. Such as blockchair.com.

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/outputs?s=value(asc)&q=value(61040000.00000001..61049999),is_spent(false)
This query returns (as of right now) 127 UTXOs with 0.6104-0.61049999 BTC balance.

Topic: I found a paper wallet on a beach ... seriously - page 10. (Read 5844 times)