12-Year Bitcoin Freeze Ends as 61 BTC Leaves Old Intersango Account

A British investor has successfully recovered 61 BTC after more than 12 years without access to the coins following the collapse of the former UK cryptocurrency exchange Intersango.

The recovered holdings are now valued at roughly £3.3 million. The investor, known only as Chris, secured the Bitcoin through a negotiated settlement after legal representatives assembled historical evidence establishing his ownership.

Chris initially invested £1,500 in Bitcoin in 2011, when BTC was trading near £2.94. He purchased the cryptocurrency through Britcoin, which was later renamed Intersango. CEL Solicitors said he approached the firm in January 2026, and the claim was settled on May 28, approximately four months later.

The recovery effort involved gathering old banking records, emails, exchange documentation and material prepared for legal proceedings in the United States. CEL Solicitors said more than 5,500 BTC connected to former Intersango customers have been traced, although individual claimants must still demonstrate ownership of their specific funds.

Bitcoin Remained Locked for More Than a Decade

Intersango became popular among early Bitcoin users, attracting thousands of customers before encountering difficulties in late 2012. Its website eventually disappeared in early 2014, while customers attempting to withdraw their funds received no meaningful response.

Chris discovered the problem when he tried to move his Bitcoin from the platform. At the time, his 61 BTC were worth only about £4,000.

After repeatedly failing to contact the exchange, he eventually accepted that the coins might never be recovered. Bitcoin’s subsequent price appreciation made the situation increasingly frustrating, with Chris telling LBC that it was difficult to watch BTC rise after he had already considered his holdings lost.

He decided to revisit the case in early 2026 after his wife encouraged him to seek professional help. That led him to CEL Solicitors.

Ryan Sweetnam, the firm’s director of financial litigation, said lawyers needed to assemble extensive documentation associated with US court proceedings before the claim could be resolved.

The matter ultimately ended in a negotiated settlement rather than a court judgment. Following the agreement, CEL Solicitors said the 61 BTC were transferred to a wallet controlled by Chris.

He has since moved the recovered coins to a platform regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Chris said he intends to keep some of the Bitcoin while converting part of the recovered amount into cash.

Intersango Customers May Have a Path to Recovery

Intersango did not have authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority, leaving customers with limited regulatory protections after the exchange ceased operations.

Chris’s case is also distinct from a typical lost-Bitcoin situation involving a forgotten password or missing private key. His coins remained associated with an exchange that shut down, creating a different type of recovery dispute.

Intersango’s three co-founders have been involved in litigation surrounding the exchange’s closure. Proceedings have included claims that one founder controls roughly 5,500 BTC, currently worth about £500 million, with some of those assets potentially belonging to former customers.

Sweetnam said the litigation recognized that Bitcoin associated with former Intersango customers continued to exist.

That could give other former users a potential route to pursue their own claims. However, they must still provide evidence showing that the particular Bitcoin they are seeking belongs to them.

Old bank statements, emails, exchange records and transaction information could prove useful. Even an email address originally linked to an Intersango account may help lawyers trace historical customer information.

UK Crypto Rules Are Moving Toward a New Framework

Britain’s regulatory environment for cryptocurrency businesses has changed substantially since Intersango stopped operating.

The FCA’s application window for the country’s upcoming crypto authorization regime is scheduled to run from September 30, 2026, through February 28, 2027.

The framework is expected to take effect on October 25, 2027. Once implemented, crypto exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers and other covered businesses will need authorization to conduct regulated activities in the UK.

For former Intersango customers, however, recovering old Bitcoin will still depend heavily on their ability to produce historical evidence connecting the assets to their accounts.