---
title: "LuckyLurker Bitcoin Vault puzzles"
description: "Paul Jones's Bitcoin Vault puzzles. Verify Vault 1's Electrum seed and claimed prize. Vault 2 has 1 BTC with public hints due October 12."
canonical_url: "https://puzzles.agntn.dev/collections/luckylurker"
---
# LuckyLurker Bitcoin Vault puzzles

> Paul Jones's Bitcoin Vault puzzles. Verify Vault 1's Electrum seed and claimed prize. Vault 2 has 1 BTC with public hints due October 12.

Two vaults, two different states: the first is solved, the second has a funded 1 BTC prize. Both come from [Paul Jones](https://luckylurker.com/author/paul-jones/), identified on LuckyLurker's [About page](https://luckylurker.com/about-us/) and posting as [Paul_LuckyLurker on Bitcointalk](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=3750819).

<collection-facts collection="luckylurker">



</collection-facts>

## Bitcoin Vault #1 solution

Paul [announced the hunt](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5577554.0) on March 16, 2026 at 17:54:03 UTC. Twelve riddles pointed to twelve seed words; four sent readers to articles elsewhere on the site. The [vault page](https://luckylurker.com/bitcoin-vault/) dates its public hints from March 17 to March 22. The earlier forum announcement sets the puzzle's start date.

Each hint keeps its original wording in `text`. The word published after it was solved lives in `answer`, with its own source. Folding that word back into the clue would erase what participants actually had to solve.

### Electrum seed and derivation path

The published phrase is:

```text
visit kingdom unveil kangaroo deposit found great grid remind science umbrella spot
```

It's an **Electrum SegWit seed**, not BIP39, despite what the [author's recap](https://luckylurker.com/luckylurker-bitcoin-vault-1-has-been-cracked/) calls it. The distinction matters: BIP39 rejects its checksum, and skipping that check still produces the wrong wallet.

The phrase has [Electrum seed version](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/seedphrase.html) `100`. With an empty passphrase, **m/0'/0/1** gives the funded address: the second receiving address, not the first. [Electrum's mnemonic code](https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/electrum/mnemonic.py) uses the salt `electrum`, and its [keystore](https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/electrum/keystore.py) starts this account at `m/0'`. BIP84 isn't the right path here.

### Verify the published seed

This check uses `@scure/bip32` 2.4.0 and `@agntn/keys` 0.3.0. It matches both the funded address and the public key exposed in the claim transaction.

```js
import assert from "node:assert/strict";
import { createHmac, pbkdf2Sync } from "node:crypto";
import { HDKey } from "@scure/bip32";
import { Bitcoin } from "@agntn/keys/blockchains/bitcoin";

const phrase =
  "visit kingdom unveil kangaroo deposit found great grid remind science umbrella spot";
assert.ok(createHmac("sha512", "Seed version").update(phrase).digest("hex").startsWith("100"));
const seed = pbkdf2Sync(phrase, "electrum", 2048, 64, "sha512");
const child = HDKey.fromMasterSeed(seed).derive("m/0'/0/1");
const bitcoin = new Bitcoin();
const pubkey = bitcoin.getKeyPublic(Buffer.from(child.privateKey).toString("hex"), {
  compressed: true,
});
assert.equal(pubkey, "024ad3b398bc9a95b4b8d44310e15a5355402dba3c784e60bf3b14821ca1622adb");
assert.equal(bitcoin.getAddress(pubkey, "segwit"), "bc1q32e3dxcd0n2tlzdmchraf2057d0ax4xdwrk3jq");
```

The record keeps these twelve words as `seed(...).electrum()`. `verify()` runs the same derivation through `@agntn/keys`. Or skip the plumbing: `verify(await requirePuzzle("luckylurker/vault-1"))` says `verified: true`. Paul published words. Now the record holds words too, not a hex nobody printed. This is a public solved puzzle, not a wallet to reuse.

### The 80,000-satoshi prize and claim

The [claim transaction](https://mempool.space/tx/75e570a5ea243c492e2804916482f046b2392b463c51be15624e6e25a84119f7) spent two 40,000-satoshi outputs on August 17, 2026 at 18:08:09 UTC. It paid 79,638 sats to `17oKQHHRxdQBiRaGKCoVDQJfebhPaZV3r7` and 362 sats in fees. The prize was 80,000 sats, not the smaller payout. Paul confirmed the solve but didn't name the solver.

## Bitcoin Vault #2 and its 1 BTC prize

[Vault #2](https://luckylurker.com/bitcoin-vault-2/) uses `bc1qnepv9pcnqvndux9h9mcaxvk6u993rc0lew9fpp`. Its [funding transaction](https://mempool.space/tx/2314d7f0b76c4f29ed1cfb949fd2882d648712f5c6cbaef9d7dff8ddee46f198) deposited 1 BTC on August 12, 2026 at 14:19:56 UTC. On September 20 the address still held that BTC, with no spends.

The [launch announcement](https://luckylurker.com/bitcoin-vault-2-is-live-1-btc-prize/) was published on September 11 at 16:42:56 UTC, per the [publisher's metadata](https://luckylurker.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?slug=bitcoin-vault-2-is-live-1-btc-prize&_fields=date,date_gmt,link,title). That's the second puzzle's start date. Funding came earlier; public hints come later.

### When do Vault #2 hints start?

Public hints are scheduled from **October 12, 2026**. All twelve slots were locked at the September 20 check. Paul warns that clues may need combining rather than mapping neatly to individual words.

Vault #2 has no recorded public key, seed or derivation path. Don't assume it uses Electrum just because the first vault did.

## Browse the LuckyLurker puzzle records

<collection-puzzles collection="luckylurker">



</collection-puzzles>


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