Irish Drug Dealer Clifton Collins' 500 BTC, Dormant for Nearly 10 Years, Emerges with On-Chain Transfer

ZkProver · 2026-03-25T02:24:12+00:00

Collins purchased approximately 6,000 BTC through marijuana sales between 2011 and 2012, storing them across 12 wallets with private keys hidden in a rental property in Ireland. After his arrest in 2017, the house was cleared and the private keys were presumed permanently lost, with the court ruling that assets would be forfeited. However, recent on-chain transfers of 500 BTC suggest the assets may still be accessible.

ZkProver

2026-03-25 02:24:12

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ChainCatcher reports that Collins purchased approximately 6,000 BTC with proceeds from marijuana sales between 2011 and 2012, and stored them across 12 wallets. His private keys were kept on paper, hidden in a fishing rod box inside a rented house in Galway, Ireland. After Collins was arrested in 2017, the house was cleared out, and his personal belongings were sent to the landfill.

Since then, both authorities and Collins himself believed the private keys were permanently lost, and the court also ruled the assets as criminal proceeds to be confiscated. The on-chain transfer of 500 BTC indicates that these assets may not have been completely lost.

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