A Bitcoin wallet associated with Irish convicted drug trafficker Clifton Collins has become active after more than ten years, transferring $41.52 million worth of BTC to Coinbase Prime.
Unexpected Reactivation of Long-Dormant Wallet
Blockchain analysis company Lookonchain reported that 500 BTC were sent from the Collins-linked wallet to Coinbase Prime’s institutional trading platform. This transfer resurrects one of the most well-known tales of supposed lost cryptocurrency in the industry.
The BTC sent on this occasion forms a portion of the estimated 6,000 BTC originally accumulated by Collins over a decade ago. He had allegedly misplaced the private keys, rendering the vast sum inaccessible for many years.
This is not the first transfer from the stash. Throughout 2026, Irish authorities have acted to seize multiple tranches of this fortune, continuing an unusual asset recovery that has drawn international attention.
Background of the Collins Bitcoin Fortune
Clifton Collins, formerly a beekeeper in Dublin, amassed approximately 6,000 BTC through the proceeds of illegal cannabis cultivation between late 2011 and early 2012. At the time, the price of Bitcoin was only a few dollars, and Collins began to worry about potential theft as its value increased dramatically over subsequent years.
To enhance security, Collins divided his Bitcoin holdings into 12 separate wallets, each holding 500 BTC. He printed the private keys on an A4 sheet of paper and concealed them within the metal cap of a fishing rod case. This case was hidden in a rented house in County Galway.
In 2017, Collins was arrested after police found cannabis in his vehicle. He received a five-year prison sentence. While he was incarcerated, his rented property was burglarized and his belongings were thrown away at a local landfill, resulting in the apparent loss of the fishing rod case and the keys to his Bitcoin.
Mini dictionary: Coinbase Prime is an institutional-grade platform developed by Coinbase that provides secure custody, advanced trading, and prime brokerage services to financial institutions and professional investors in the cryptocurrency market.
Recent Developments and Asset Seizures
In March, Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) announced that it had accessed one of Collins’ so-called inaccessible 500 BTC wallets with technical assistance from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre. The wallet was opened as part of ongoing efforts to recover proceeds from Collins’ criminal activities.
Further developments followed: 500 BTC were seized in May, and another 500 BTC were confiscated in July. This year, the Irish authorities have moved swiftly to recover as much of the remaining fortune as possible.
| Date | BTC Moved/Seized | Recipient/Action |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | 500 BTC | Seized by Irish CAB with Europol |
| May 2026 | 500 BTC | Seized by authorities |
| July 2026 | 500 BTC | Seized by authorities |
| Aug. 28, 2026 | 500 BTC (~$39.56 million) | Sent to Coinbase Prime |
| Oct. 20, 2026 | 500 BTC ($41.52 million) | Sent to Coinbase Prime |
The latest transfer on October 20 marks the fifth instance this year that 500 BTC have been moved from wallets tied to Collins. While the details of how these wallets have been accessed remain unclear, the ongoing asset recovery represents one of the most significant and unusual crypto retrieval stories in recent years.
It has become a striking example of how a lost fortune in the world of digital assets can sometimes, against all odds, be partially recovered over a decade after vanishing.
