Help/Advice Needed – Recovering a damaged paper wallet private key QR code (Reddit Bitcoin)
Around 8 years ago I distributed most of my Bitcoin holdings across a number of paper wallets I created of various amounts for long-term storage. These consisted of QR codes only with no other identifying information for added security. There were two copies, one primary copy kept on hand for ready access and a backup copy stored in different secure location off-site.
Unfortunately a recent extreme weather event rendered most of my primary copies unrecoverable. I have gone back to my backups and discovered that there had been some insect damage to them from where they were being stored. Fortunately about half of the wallets that we hadn’t accessed yet were undamaged enough to be recoverable however one of our largest with around 1/3 of our our original total holdings has deteriorated beyond the point of simple recovery methods I have tried so far.
Are there any recovery tools out there that I can use myself to rebuild the private key from what remains of the QR code? I was hoping there might be a tools out there that can recover enough to brute force the rest of it from that. The paper wallet still has the fully legible public key visible if it can help with this. At this point I would prefer to do it myself if possible as the wallet in question holds a significant non-trivial amount of Bitcoin on it. If all else fails I may yet consider engaging a reputable recovery service but right now I would prefer to do it myself without involving any outside parties with potential reporting requirements.
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submitted by /u/throwaway_2b_safe
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