Part of the documentary where Roger Ver gives the details of the Bitcoin wallet.

Before we even start: We do not know the journalists who recorded the interview and we do not know Roger Ver. Anyone who had access to this video could have retrieved the private key.

We could have simply named this post “How great QR code are and how we recovered one from almost nothing.” But it’s much more interesting when the QR code is the key to a $1000 Bitcoin Cash wallet.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Neo… Cryptocurrencies are all over and are moving fast. I have been following Bitcoin since 2013 (following doesn’t mean buying), had to read Mastering Bitcoin 3 times to understand how each part of it really works and be able to explain it to someone else. Still, I can’t keep up with the market, new cryptocurrencies, new forks, new ICOs everywhere, every day.

It’s easy to start using cryptocurrencies by following a tutorial online. Download a random wallet app, generate a random pair of keys and buy some crypto on a random exchange but the cryptocurrencies learning curve is difficult.

If you don’t fully understand how all parts of this work you should avoid cryptocurrencies. If you don’t, you risk losing your money by falling in one of the many pitfalls. One of them, keeping your private key secure, is the subject of this post.

The first rule of Crypto Club is: You do not share your private key.

The most precious thing you have when you own cryptocurrencies is your private key. If you lose your private key, you lose your money. If someone gets access to your private key, you lose your money. Simple.

With this real-world example will show you step by step how we recovered the private key of the $1000 Bitcoin wallet created by @rogerkver for the French TV show “Complément d’enquête” even though it was obfuscated.