How it works

One wallet. A distributed password search.

We separate the search from the wallet, so independent operators can help without receiving anything that lets them spend.

The process

Four steps from intake to recovery.

  1. 01

    We review the case

    You tell us which wallet you have and what you remember about the password. We confirm ownership, compatibility, and whether the search is realistic.

  2. 02

    We create a safe test piece

    In custodial recovery, we create it after secure intake. In non-custodial recovery, you create it locally and keep the wallet.

  3. 03

    Operators test passwords

    Distribrute splits the search into batches. Operator machines test them against the safe test piece and return matches for verification. A machine owner can inspect locally tested candidates, including a password it finds.

  4. 04

    We complete the recovery

    Custodial cases are settled by Distribrute. Non-custodial cases finish in a guided session on the owner’s computer.

Choose custody

Same search, different wallet handling.

Custodial

We handle the wallet-side work.

You send the encrypted wallet through secure intake. Distribrute verifies the recovered password and completes the payout. Operators still receive only the safe test piece.

Non-custodial

The wallet stays on your computer.

You send only the safe test piece. After a match, Distribrute guides a local session to unlock the wallet, build the payout, and sign after you review and approve it.

The operator boundary

A password is not a wallet.

The operator that finds the password still lacks the wallet and its spending keys.

sent to an operator machine

What the local search can see

  • A safe test piece
  • An assigned batch of password candidates
  • The exact password if this machine finds it
  • A random case reference
never sent to an operator machine

Wallet and direct customer data

  • ×The full wallet
  • ×Spending keys
  • ×Direct name or contact fields
  • ×Complete address lists, balances, or transaction history

A found password may be visible to the machine owner. It can carry privacy or password-reuse risk, but it is not enough to move funds without the wallet and spending keys. Safe-piece metadata is wallet-specific: an older Electrum BIE1 piece may reveal a prefix of the first address, while a MultiBit Classic .key piece reveals a bounded, non-spendable WIF prefix after a match.

The payout

A funded recovery creates the operator pool.

After a funded recovery completes settlement, the value is allocated 85% to the owner, 10% to the signed operator pool, and 5% to Distribrute. Automated settlement is still planned.

Settlement

Conceptual recovery-value allocation

After a funded recovery completes settlement, value is allocated to the owner, the signed operator pool and Distribrute. Automated on-chain settlement is still planned.

85%

to the wallet owner

10%

to the signed operator pool

5%

to Distribrute

Non-custodial: the owner reviews and authorizes settlement during a guided local recovery today. The operator pool may be divided among multiple eligible operators under the case's signed policy.