4-5M BTC Remain Locked in Forgotten Wallets as AI Recovery Tools Gain Traction Near $78K

As of May 16, reports highlight an estimated 4–5 million BTC still trapped in early-era wallets inaccessible since 2010–2013, underscoring lost-supply dynamics at current prices near $78,000. The story began May 13 with a viral claim that Anthropic’s Claude AI recovered 5 BTC (~$400K) from an 11-year dormant wallet after 3.5 trillion brute-force attempts costing $15 failed. Clarifications on May 14 confirmed Claude performed file forensics on a December 2019 backup rather than cracking encryption, while May 15 coverage featured CoinDCX CEO warnings on AI-driven security risks and urged stronger password practices.