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This tool fixes a mistyped character in a Bitcoin Private Key, restores up to 5 missing character or up to 9 at the end.

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ishristov/bitcoin-private-key-fixer

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Bitcoin Private Key Fixer

Standard - JavaScript Style Guide Build Status

  1. This tool can find and fix a random typo. If the private key has 1 symbol that is not correct, the tool will find it and change it to its real value and will restore the original private key.

  2. It can find up to 4-5 missing symbols from the private key assuming we know the positions of those missing symbols. It will also work with more missing symbols but with each symbol we add we will slow the script ~60 times so it practically becomes useless after the ~5th missing character (depending on your computer).

  3. It can also find up to 8-9 missing symbols if they are at the end of the private key.

Important

This is all said below but since people are very cautions and suspicious (as they SHOULD be with such tools) I want to emphasize on it. The only safe way to use the tool is to follow these exact steps:

Download the code -> turn off your internet -> run the code and find the key -> sweep the private key with a mobile wallet to transfer the funds -> remove the tool (instructions below) -> restart computer -> turn on internet.

Even if you haven't found the key for some reason, you still have to remove the tool and restart the computer before going back online.

Requirements

The script will only work if

  1. The private key is in a WIF compressed or uncompressed format. This is a Wallet Import Format that is 51 or 52 characters long (assuming no missing symbols) and should start with 5 for the 51 chars version and with K or L for the 52 chars version.
  2. The public address that is associated with the private key in question is known.

The basic functionality in the popular https://www.bitaddress.org website for generating a single wallet generates the public address and the private key in those exact formats and they are widely used.

They look like these:

Public address: 1CjV8fZz6R8LTwFaAsRUwWFEJbtEXQp7iu

Private key: L3mopevKjjjcy2mqVbcHs2zWwoujMRpzRyN6mpidwdqmMPmqc6t2

Getting started

If you don't have Node.js you have to download it and install it first.

Then run the following commands into the Terminal (for MacOS) or the Command Prompt (for Windows) to download the tool and start playing with it.

git clone https://github.com/ishristov/bitcoin-private-key-fixer.git
cd bitcoin-private-key-fixer
npm install

Going offline

At this point it would be best to turn off your internet connection and continue offline because your computer might be infected with viruses or malware. It is also recommended to have a mobile Bitcoin wallet nearby so if the private key is indeed recovered, the funds can be immediately transfered to it because the key would no longer be considered safe (some malicious program might intercept it and steal it).

Restore by fixing a single typo

To fix a typo in the private key, replace the {PUBLIC_ADDRESS} and the {PRIVATE_KEY} with your known public address and your broken private key and run the command in the Terminal.

node app.js --publicAddress={PUBLIC_ADDRESS} --privateKey={PRIVATE_KEY}

For example

node app.js --publicAddress=1CjV8fZz6R8LTwFaAsRUwWFEJbtEXQp7iu --privateKey=L3mopevKjjjcy2mqVbcHs2zWwoujMRpzRyN6mpidwdqmMPmqc6ts

privatekeyfound

Restore up to 4-5 missing simbols

To restore missing characters from the WIF private key, replace the {PUBLIC_ADDRESS} and the {PRIVATE_KEY} with your known public address and your private key, put underscore _ on each position where you are missing a symbol and run the command in the Terminal.

node app.js --publicAddress={PUBLIC_ADDRESS} --privateKey={PRIVATE_KEY}

For example (3 missing, replaced with _)

node app.js --publicAddress=1CjV8fZz6R8LTwFaAsRUwWFEJbtEXQp7iu --privateKey=L3__pev_jjjcy2mqVbcHs2zWwoujMRpzRyN6mpidwdqmMPmqc6t2

Recovering 3 missing symbols is almost instant and recovering 4 should take < 5 minutes on a MacBook Pro.

privatekeyprocessing

Restore up to 8-9 missing simbols at the end

To restore missing characters from the end at the WIF private key, replace the {PUBLIC_ADDRESS} and the {PRIVATE_KEY} with your known public address and your private key and run the command in the Terminal.

node app.js --publicAddress={PUBLIC_ADDRESS} --privateKey={PRIVATE_KEY}

For example (7 missing)

node app.js --publicAddress=1CjV8fZz6R8LTwFaAsRUwWFEJbtEXQp7iu --privateKey=L3mopevKjjjcy2mqVbcHs2zWwoujMRpzRyN6mpidwdqmM

Recovering 7 missing symbols is almost instant and recovering 8 should take < 10 minutes on a MacBook Pro.

Going back online

If a private key was successfully recovered and the BTC funds were transfered out, it would be best to first delete the tool by running the following comamnd into the Terminal cd ../ && rm -Rf bitcoin-private-key-fixer then restart your computer and only then it would be relatively safe to connect back to the internet.

Contributions

If a private key is successfully restored any donation would be highly appreciated.

🍻 bc1q388znz2hafr8rwzjd6rvj70m9ccp3n98sw3y2u

Donation link with qr code

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This tool fixes a mistyped character in a Bitcoin Private Key, restores up to 5 missing character or up to 9 at the end.

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