If you got in this situationn! What will you?

[Brizi5000]

But why will someone go about guessing other people’s private keys, and what made them think such wallet is dormant. In as much as there’s some BTC in that wallet I don’t see it as a dormant wallet so I wouldn’t encourage such act. On the contrary, I don’t think it’s possible to actually guess correctly the elements contained in a private key of a certain wallet picked randomly. But if it happens that someone is able to get hold of a private key of a certain BTC wallet address then the BTC belongs to him because whoever have the key have control of the BTC it’s as simple as that.

[Faisal2202]

I dont even think this is even possible. The seedphrase is so difficult that if you dont know it take advantage of wallet you cant have access. ......

I don't think that will happen, guessing someone's seed phrase and even gaining access will be difficult, if that can happen, why are scammers stressing about getting people's attention before scamming them? However, according to the post, I believe it is simply about what you will do if that happens, for example, if I see someone's seed phrase written on a piece of paper or you guessed it and it is correct, what will you do if you gain access to the wallet? I will not touch it or even try to break into the wallet and see what is inside.

This reminds me of a case in South Korea, where one friend happened to see the seed phrase of another, and he remembered all of them. After that, he stole the funds, but his friend was smart. He quickly realized what had happened and how it could have happened, and he reported it to the police, and the thief was caught.

So you can't really get away with that easily with the funds, because once I had to recover a seed phrase from a device and the screen was damaged, so I used a display from a computer shop, and there was a camera right behind it. Anything could have happened if I failed to notice it, therefore. stay better to stay sharp and notice things like this.

I always try to stay aware of my surroundings. I even hesitate to check my empty bank account in public haha.

[Smack That Ace]

Technically, if you hold the private key, then you are the owner of those addresses, so the first thing I would do is a sweep.

I am a kind-hearted person and will be returning them if it is in hundred but a billion dollar treasure is no joke and everyone would do the same thing in my opinion.

I understand so many persons will do the same thing but I want you to enlighten me on something. You said you will be returning it if it’s in hundred, just curious, how do you do that, how possible is that and also what if the person is death?

I think returning it here means he simply wouldnt touch those Bitcoins. Or better yet, he could try to let the owner know by moving a tiny amount of BTC so they notice something unusual happened to their wallet.

Basically, as long as you do not touch the Bitcoin and leave it as it is, you've pretty much returned it to the owner.

But I still wonder if anyone would actually be kind enough to do that.

[Jostern]

If you can guess a recovery seed in your head and import into a wallet then you landed on a billion dollars balance then the security of the wallet is whacked job because with such amount of money they should do more than just recovery seed.

Such crypto wallet should have passphrase implemented, I should have landed on a empty wallet balance instead of this much amount of money, I will teach the person a small lesson my moving the funds into a new address then sending it back later.

Maybe after a week? Or two? I know such person would have shit their pants already,  enough time to atleast make them reconsider their strategy, it's going to be hard to restrict such temptation though, many will take some part and send the rest back.

If someone can do that I guess that person have hit a jackpot, but I’m just wondering why someone would be interested to guess or discover a seed-phrase of someone else’s, well I guess it depends on how you’re able to get that seed, the owner might be alive or dead, so you never know, which makes me to suggest that you leave such things that doesn’t belong to you alone even though you discover it, that doesn’t mean that it’s a dormant or lost bitcoin.

Which brings me to ask you, are you sure you’re going to return the money when you have had access to it, after you’ve moved the money to another wallet address, it’s easier said than done.

Because I don’t see any reason suffering the owner of the bitcoin, so you don’t have to allow them shit on their pants, that’s not very generous.

[Sunshine1525]

If someone can do that I guess that person have hit a jackpot, but I’m just wondering why someone would be interested to guess or discover a seed-phrase of someone else’s, well I guess it depends on how you’re able to get that seed, the owner might be alive or dead, so you never know, which makes me to suggest that you leave such things that doesn’t belong to you alone even though you discover it, that doesn’t mean that it’s a dormant or lost bitcoin.

Which brings me to ask you, are you sure you’re going to return the money when you have had access to it, after you’ve moved the money to another wallet address, it’s easier said than done.

Because I don’t see any reason suffering the owner of the bitcoin, so you don’t have to allow them shit on their pants, that’s not very generous.

It's something that's rare to guess except the owner leaves a clue or it was successfully hacked due of a bug, it would be dream come through for someone to luckily guess a seed, cause the money belong to such person automatically, "Not your keys not your coins" afterall. It takes a generous and kind hearted person to discover such without claiming it.

That's why extra security should be given to the wallet so such situation wouldn't happen, I know it’s rare without being hacked but still, people shouldn't joke with the security of their wallet cause not everyone would be very generous to return the money and save the person who lost it the stress of developing a blood pressure.

[Nrcewker]

Let me be very honest. First of all my luck isnt that good that I would guess a private key and on top of that, it would have $1 million worth of Bitcoin. But practically, lets say it does happen. I think that according to Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, if you own the private keys, then you also own the coins. Morally however its wrong if we look at it that way. We have simply gained access to someone else’s hard earned money.

Practically speaking, if its a dormant wallet and there’s no owner left then I would monitor the wallet daily for at least a month. If I saw no activity during that period, I would prefer transferring the funds. I mean it is better to use them rather than let them remain lost forever. At the end of the day we know Bitcoin is extremely valuable. I know many people wont agree with this but on the surface I can see this as the best approach and option.

[Orpichukwu]

But I still wonder if anyone would actually be kind enough to do that.

The chances of what the op is asking are very slim. At the same time, the chances of someone seeing bitcoin worth that amount after guessing the seed and returning it or leaving it untouched are also very slim; a lot of people will say things that will make them appear righteous online, but when such reality hits them, they will consider the money as a miracle sent from above.

[Silikiem]

But I still wonder if anyone would actually be kind enough to do that.

The chances of what the op is asking are very slim. At the same time, the chances of someone seeing bitcoin worth that amount after guessing the seed and returning it or leaving it untouched are also very slim; a lot of people will say things that will make them appear righteous online, but when such reality hits them, they will consider the money as a miracle sent from above.

There’s no chance for that, and if such does happen then most people will say it’s a miracle but I see it as a pure hacked activity trying to guess a private key that’s not theirs . Aside guessing the seed phrase correctly, I think the person is probably aware that such amount of BTC is in there and trust me if people are aware that such amount of BTC is in that wallet they will do everything possible to get hold of the private key.

[Catenaccio]

There’s no chance for that, and if such does happen then most people will say it’s a miracle but I see it as a pure hacked activity trying to guess a private key that’s not theirs . Aside guessing the seed phrase correctly, I think the person is probably aware that such amount of BTC is in there and trust me if people are aware that such amount of BTC is in that wallet they will do everything possible to get hold of the private key.

If the seed was generated with good entropy like 128 bits or 256 bits, it's safe and solid enough in security so it won't be found by someone else from your public address or public key so that they will be able to steal your bitcoin.

There is also a second layer security: wallet passphrase, if people set a passphrase for their wallet, it will become more secure, and much more secure if the passphrase they used is very strong and can not be bruteforce.

Are your passwords in the green?
Bitcoin wallet passphrase.

[Jubilee58]

I saw this topic on Reddit/Bitcoin, and got curious if this ever happened on anyone. What actually will they do? Or does this kind of scenario implicate some lawful violations. Considering that someone didnt use any sort of unlawful stuff like knocking on someone door and forced to give a private key and steal it.

Lets just say a dormant wallet for a long time and someone luckily guess the keys.

Dormant or new private keys, you can not know that the owner lost the wallet or still own it with accessible private keys. If you don't know that but you still steal the coins, you are a criminal, surely.

If the owner lost the keys, for example in dormant wallet case, it is still morally wrong if you steal the coins in that wallet.

In legal aspect, if you steal something from anyone, it's illegal and you're a criminal.

You can not bruteforce my email password, access it and say you don't do anything wrong both morally and legally.

It is believed that someone who guesses a private key to discover someone's Bitcoin did not do well in the first place, and does not have a genue intention, and if such a thing happens, it is better not to tamper with such owns because it is possible that the owner still have access to his or her own wallet. Sometimes when some people's Bitcoin wallet are tempered, it is not as if they have lost access to their wallet, but it could be that he have compromised with their key phrase, exposing it to a third party. Sometimes ago, I misplaced my trust wallet seed phrase, though later found it but it took me time, and if in this situation someone gained access to my wallet, and tamper with my investment, it is actually a criminal act.

[Myleschetty]

I dont even think this is even possible. The seedphrase is so difficult that if you dont know it take advantage of wallet you cant have access. ......

I don't think that will happen, guessing someone's seed phrase and even gaining access will be difficult, if that can happen, why are scammers stressing about getting people's attention before scamming them? However, according to the post, I believe it is simply about what you will do if that happens, for example, if I see someone's seed phrase written on a piece of paper or you guessed it and it is correct, what will you do if you gain access to the wallet? I will not touch it or even try to break into the wallet and see what is inside.

This reminds me of a case in South Korea, where one friend happened to see the seed phrase of another, and he remembered all of them. After that, he stole the funds, but his friend was smart. He quickly realized what had happened and how it could have happened, and he reported it to the police, and the thief was caught.

So you can't really get away with that easily with the funds, because once I had to recover a seed phrase from a device and the screen was damaged, so I used a display from a computer shop, and there was a camera right behind it. Anything could have happened if I failed to notice it, therefore. stay better to stay sharp and notice things like this.

I always try to stay aware of my surroundings. I even hesitate to check my empty bank account in public haha.

Indeed, the best course of action is for us to remain cautious and never do anything that could reveal the private information in our cryptocurrency wallet. Having said that, I find it unbelievable that in 2026, when Bitcoin has already become a widely used payment method, someone would think to steal another person's BTC simply because they see their wallet seed which is something identical to ColdCard hacker.
Going back to the story you said about the South Korean, the wallet owner did the right thing by reporting the problem to the police because if he confront his friend directly, he might decide to kill him.

[macson]

I think we should be able to stop imagining situations like that. I mean, just think logically, there's no need to say lucky or whatever, your chance of guessing a private key is practically impossible. There's no need to think that it could be that easy since there are so many possible private keys, and randomly finding one with such a huge balance is just a dream.

Also about your first question, haven't we always been taught that breaking into and taking things that aren't yours are the same as stealing? So I think anyone who debates a question with such a clear answer has something wrong with their way of thinking.

[iBaba]

But why will someone go about guessing other people’s private keys, and what made them think such wallet is dormant. In as much as there’s some BTC in that wallet I don’t see it as a dormant wallet so I wouldn’t encourage such act. On the contrary, I don’t think it’s possible to actually guess correctly the elements contained in a private key of a certain wallet picked randomly. But if it happens that someone is able to get hold of a private key of a certain BTC wallet address then the BTC belongs to him because whoever have the key have control of the BTC it’s as simple as that.

This is very scary to me, how would someone even think of trying another persons private key, how would he even decide a particular wallet without having any information about it or assume that the owner has abandoned the wallet?

So I am really shocked at this situation because how large the combinations are randomly guessing the correct private key really feels impossible. I get that whoever controls the private key controls the bitcoin but i still see the whole idea trying to get access to somebodys wallet or funds this way is questionable.

[tabas]

Basically, as long as you do not touch the Bitcoin and leave it as it is, you've pretty much returned it to the owner.

But I still wonder if anyone would actually be kind enough to do that.

Not until you have decided to take that and it had became dormant and a lot of years that it's not touched or moved. I think that the reality for everybody is that they will be happy to see it and will think of it as theirs. And without the owners permission, no one can have these bitcoins for free to import and recover. So the chances of this happening is very low or rare at all. But if some good and generous guy give that and you have just made a story out of it to make the community believe that it's a random thing you're able to recover, some people on the internet only want clout.

[Fiasem20]

This is the scenario where a lot people would lose their integrity.It’s really easy to say you’ll return the money to the rightful owner but in reality you’ll do the opposite.While growing up I usually read a lot of fictional stories where a poor wretched who usually works in the farm and on a lucky day when he was digging the ground he saw a bag filled with lots of money and he achieved it and became rich.We all know stories like that are all cooked up fictional stories,so this story is kinda similar to this situation of a person guessing a private key and to their greatest surprise the wallet has an amount that’s a life changing amount.However,if the owner of the dormant account is dead and you want to maintain your integrity you can a make a donation to a charity organization.

[tread93]

Well it's technically not a simple task to guess someone's private keys and hopefully you find that kind of amount of funds inside. To me there are two options, which is you either transfer the funds to another wallet, which isn't something I would consider, or you log out of the wallet It is as simple as that best to say  in such scenarios anything can happen because the possibilities are endless. For me, if you are an honest person, you wouldn't take what isn't yours in the first place. Like put yourself in the person's shoes and ask yourself, how would they feel? So yeah it's wrong. Except you want to get involved in looking for the owner, but that shouldn't be your business in the first place even if you say it's a lost wallet, you still wouldn't be able to tell if it's someone's actual wallet or not.so the fact remains,taking funds is still legally considered theft. Even though the system is decentralized, real world property laws still apply. Even if there is no one to judge you, your actions are what matter, and you can choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing. That's all......

Honestly if it were me and I was a bit more technical I would put all my time and energy into finding who the rightful owner is after of course putting the funds in a secure wallet that is safe from bad actors and I would return the funds immediately. And who knows maybe they give me a “tip” or something of this nature….I would not deny it, however, I would not go our of my way to ask for it because I believe that everyone deserves more chances to right their wrongs.

[Fordsmith]

From the Bitcoin side, if someone somehow manages to guess the private key, the network doesn't really care how they got it. If the signature is valid, the coins can be moved.

But that doesn't automatically mean the person legally owns those coins. The legal side is a different matter and would depend on the circumstances and local laws.

That said, actually guessing someone's private key is basically impossible in practice. The number of possible keys is ridiculously huge. A wallet being dormant for 10 or 20 years doesn't make its private key any easier to guess.

So technically possible, but realistically not something I'd worry about.

[hd49728]

From the Bitcoin side, if someone somehow manages to guess the private key, the network doesn't really care how they got it. If the signature is valid, the coins can be moved.

It's more practical doable to steal wallets, wallet backups, private keys of other Bitcoin holders and users than guess Bitcoin private keys. By any ways used if private key is known, bitcoins in that Bitcoin address will be accessed and can be spent.

But that doesn't automatically mean the person legally owns those coins. The legal side is a different matter and would depend on the circumstances and local laws.

It's illegal to use anything that is not yours and it's not open-access to you and morally it is very wrong to use anything that is not yours, and you did not legally work for it and earn it somehow.

Brute force, hack Bitcoin wallets, private keys, and steal bitcoins of the others is illegal and immoral.

In Bitcoin community, the Silk Road case is very famous, and a hacker behind this, James Zhong has been possibly sentenced in jail for 20 years.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-historic-336-billion-cryptocurrency-seizure-and-conviction
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/silk-road-dark-web-fraud-defendant-sentenced-following-seizure-and-forfeiture-over-34

ZHONG, 32, of Gainesville, Georgia, and Athens, Georgia, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

[oll]

From the Bitcoin side, if someone somehow manages to guess the private key, the network doesn't really care how they got it. If the signature is valid, the coins can be moved.

But that doesn't automatically mean the person legally owns those coins. The legal side is a different matter and would depend on the circumstances and local laws.

That said, actually guessing someone's private key is basically impossible in practice. The number of possible keys is ridiculously huge. A wallet being dormant for 10 or 20 years doesn't make its private key any easier to guess.

So technically possible, but realistically not something I'd worry about.

That’s why I believe that such a discussion doesn’t have any practical significance, because no one will ever be able to guess the keys to a Bitcoin wallet. Especially not to one that contains a very large amount of money. And even if that were to happen - although, of course, that’s impossible - the person shouldn’t own those bitcoins, because someone else has already earned them before. And that means they’d be taking someone else’s property. You’re right in pointing out that legally, they also wouldn’t be able to prove to the law that they earned those coins through any honest means.

[MusaMohamed]

That’s why I believe that such a discussion doesn’t have any practical significance, because no one will ever be able to guess the keys to a Bitcoin wallet. Especially not to one that contains a very large amount of money. And even if that were to happen - although, of course, that’s impossible - the person shouldn’t own those bitcoins, because someone else has already earned them before. And that means they’d be taking someone else’s property. You’re right in pointing out that legally, they also wouldn’t be able to prove to the law that they earned those coins through any honest means.

It's impossible.

Impossible in a first type of attempt to generate all Bitcoin private keys, and check related Bitcoin addresses for finding wallets with balance and steal those coins.

Impossible in a second type of attempt to brute force a Bitcoin private key, to go backwards from Bitcoin address to Bitcoin private key and steal coins. From a Bitcoin address, it's easily to filter addresses to find ones that have bitcoins but again brute forcing is impossible.

With Bitcoin users, the importance for their practice is do all things right: choose wallets, create wallets, back up wallets, test backups, and secure storage of all these things. They also need to maintain good habit online and offline, stay humble to avoid hacks and physical attacks. If they can do so, their bitcoins will be safe.