The Ethereum Wallet was a software released in 2015, followed by the Mist Browser in 2016, both of which were developed by the Ethereum Foundation. These applications were among the first to allow users to manage Ether and ERC-20 tokens. However, as more modern wallet options became available, these tools were eventually abandoned in 2019.
Many people who used these applications years ago to store their crypto now find themselves in a difficult position: they still have the hardware, but they no longer know where the wallet files are located. If you are trying to recover access to your funds, you have two primary options: you can search for the wallet files manually or automatically.
The manual way to find Ethereum wallet files
The manual approach involves searching your old computer or hard drive for specific file types generated by the software. These applications typically stored wallet data in a format known as a JSON Ethereum keystore file, also referred to as a UTC keystore file.
To find them, you should use your operating system’s search function to look for files whose name starts with UTC--.
These files often have long, complex names, such as UTC--2025-12-11T00-14-43.394249100Z--e3ce0662ea41e6b1654ffd225673a88c41c53677.
Their contents should look like this:
1{
2 "address": "e3ce0662ea41e6b1654ffd225673a88c41c53677",
3 "Crypto": {
4 "cipher": "aes-128-ctr",
5 "ciphertext": "d7f536a42bcc23cea4e77436cf3a19024096212711430a56759ab9b9753e4dc2",
6 "cipherparams": {
7 "iv": "b4650901d555502b66f1d8500acbb92a"
8 },
9 "kdf": "scrypt",
10 "kdfparams": {
11 "dklen": 32,
12 "n": 262144,
13 "p": 1,
14 "r": 8,
15 "salt": "c5eeb9f132b2bc6e45f1596fdeb064f877b66bac5867df0dc5cf202b7637809b"
16 },
17 "mac": "12be78667f268a7921454d4f4d906190f340e72dfb86d49a9e47a1221b64ea7e"
18 },
19 "id": "71f68599-16df-4512-b87f-80da691c9171",
20 "version": 3
21}
Ethereum presale wallets
A notable exception exists for those who participated in the Ethereum project very early on. If you hold an Ethereum presale wallet,
the file you are looking for might be different. Thus, you should also search your drive for a file named ethereum_wallet_backup.json.
Its contents should look like this:
1{
2 "encseed": "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",
3 "ethaddr": "f9438b7121a15fd127ec0d8a72ee2b3e8da04a5a",
4 "bkp": "74fdb879ece341dd590a769f2cd39d6717aac4bd87b0e5c82084dd65a40750b4",
5 "email": "pippo@gmail.com",
6 "btcaddr": "1DcQxkURtPhtX1wH3DVkdz75UD4RdoefqG"
7}
Why the manual way often fails
While searching wallet files by hand is an option, the manual method has significant drawbacks:
- Time-consuming: Sifting through years of digital data can take hours or even days.
- Error-prone: It is incredibly easy to miss a small wallet file among a multitude of system and personal files.
- Version inconsistencies: You may have used a version of the wallet software that stored files in a non-standard way compared to the most common releases.
- Hidden or renamed files: The manual way fails if you ever tried to hide the wallet by moving it or renaming the file.
- Lack of scalability: You cannot easily or quickly verify many computers or storage devices at once.
The automatic way: Introducing Treasure Hunter
This is why I created Treasure Hunter. It is an advanced software solution designed to scan your computer and find lost wallets far more effectively than any manual search. It is superior to the manual way for several reasons:
- Deep detection: It is designed to detect wallet files even if they have been renamed or moved to obscure locations in an attempt to hide them.
- Wide compatibility: It works on a variety of storage devices, including HDDs, SSDs, USB keys, SD cards, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.
- Multi-platform support: You can run the software on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Free to scan: You can scan your storage devices for free to see what Treasure Hunter can find.
Instead of struggling with manual searches that may lead to nothing, you can let the software do the heavy lifting for you.